Will the hour of my freedom come?'Tis time, ’tis time! To it I call;I roam above the sea, I wait for the right weather,I beckon to the sails of ships.Under the cope of storms, with waves disputing,on the free crossway of the sea when shall I start on my free course?’Tis time to leave the dreary shore of the element inimical to me,and ’mid meridian ripples beneath the sky of my Africa,to sigh for somber Russia,where I suffered, where I loved,where I buried my heart.-Eugene Onegin, Nabokov translation
horrible translation
Mesa saw da boats on da sea,Dreamin’ of when mesa finally free.Mesa say, “It’s my time!”Through Africa sky mesa climb,An’ remember da hearts back in Russia, yippee!
>>25130217Nabokov's translation is not bad because it's literal but because it is literal right down to the fucking grammar. Instead of putting "bows without constraint," he goes for "bows unconstrainedly"
