About the translation of a poem by Victor Hugo

Abstract

Victor Hugo’s collection of poems, Les Contemplations, was published in 1856. The collection consists of 158 poems written by the poet between 1830 and 1855. The poems are organized into six books and divided into two parts: Before / Now (Autrefois / Aujourd’hui). The poem Tomorrow, at Sunrise … (Demain, dès l’aube…) is the fourteenth poem in the fourth book of the collection, Pauca Meae (A Few Poems to My Daughter), and dates back to 1843. This three-stanza poem, considered a masterpiece of French lyric poetry, was dedicated by Victor Hugo to his eldest daughter, nineteen-year-old Léopoldine, who drowned while boating in the Seine with her husband and his relatives. Hugo was returning from Spain and learned the tragic news a few days later while reading a newspaper in a café.

          The process of translation involves understanding both the linguistic and psychological aspects of the text, identifying the author’s intentions, accurately conveying the underlying meaning, abstracting from specific words and expressions, and then creating a new text in the target language. First, there is the versification. Hugo’s lyrical masterpiece is written in twelve-syllable Alexandrine verse. The Georgian version of the poem (translated by N. Kavtaradze) uses an eight-syllable structure, partially due to the reduction of personal pronouns.   Nevertheless, the simplicity of the poem’s language allows for the translation of almost all the lexical elements of the French text (ten words were removed from the French text, six were added to the Georgian text, and four words were replaced with equivalent synonyms).

          Victor Hugo’s poem depicts a journey. The subjective nature of the journey enhances its lyricism, leading to a generalization of personal feelings within the context of Romanticism. A real or imaginary journey through time and space is expressed through a shift in grammatical tenses (present/future). In the Georgian translation, the change in tense is almost preserved: in the French text, the future tense is used eight times, while in the Georgian version, it is used seven times. In both the French and Georgian texts, the present tense appears four times, although in the French text, it is confined to the first stanza, while in the Georgian version, it is spread across the first two stanzas. Additionally, the Georgian text incorporates the past tense. The musicality of Hugo’s poem is also achieved through the rhythmic alternation of negative particles, a feature preserved in the Georgian version. At the end of the poem, dreams and visions are replaced by reality, expressed through a desire for concreteness. In the third stanza, one toponym (Harfleur) and two plant names (Erica and Holly) are mentioned. The small town of Harfleur, located in the Normandy region, is likely used for the sake of rhyme (fleur / Harfleur), as it is not the actual location of the tragedy—Hugo’s daughter died in Villequier, which is situated directly on the Seine. Harfleur, however, is also on the right bank of the Seine River, not far from where the tragedy occurred.

          The process of actualization, concretization, and reconstruction through literary analysis not only aids in the correct understanding of the literary text but also helps make informed decisions in translation. For example, the two plants named in the poem – Erica and Holly – do not carry special meaning in Georgian culture; therefore, their mention does not create a chain of associations for Georgian readers. In French folk traditions, however, both Erica and Holly hold symbolic significance. Even the ancient Romans used wreaths made of Erica as a symbol of eternal love for newlyweds. While Holly is gradually being incorporated into Georgian Christmas traditions—its image frequently seen on holiday decorations – Holly does not appear in canonical Christian texts. However, according to folklore, this plant is linked to a biblical story: when the Holy Family fled from Herod’s soldiers in Egypt, they found refuge beneath Holly’s evergreen branches, thereby escaping capture. In the Georgian translation, both Holly and Erica are retained without alteration. Hugo emphasizes the evergreen quality to convey the eternal and enduring nature of his feelings, his memory of a beloved person, and his promise to visit her grave. In the Georgian translation, the focus shifts to Holly’s red berries, which adds a new color palette to the poem. The word – ruby, added in the same verse, evokes associations with preciousness and complements the reference to the sun in the poem’s title. This addition highlights the intense emotion that binds the poem’s lyrical self to its subject.