New-York tribune., 1903-07-12
FITZ GERALD.
HIS I'ransIations of Dramatic Liter
ature.
Qtltre.

Gture.
sX DRAMAS OF CALDERON Freely Translated
by Edward Fitz Gerald Edited by H. Oesner
13eneraI editorship OF Israel GoIIancz1 16mo
PIP xxXiv, 497 London: Alexander Moring.
LETTERS AND LITERARY REMAINS OF ED
WARD FITZ GERALD In Seven Volumes.
Vol. VI 8vo. PIP. 46l. The Macmillan Company.
Three years after Fitz Gerald began to 'nibble
at Spanish" he published his six Dramas of
Calderon." That was in 1853 1t not long
before he edited by a determined spit"
at his work in 1.-The AthenRum," written by
John r. Chorley a profound student of the
Spanish drama On the other hand. Archbishop
Trench, himself a capable translator of Cal
Ieron while recognizing defects in Fitz GeraId's
versions spoke of them with warm apprecia-
tion written 'in English of an exquisite pUr-
ity and vgor and dealing with poetry in a
poets spirit" These differences of opinion
placed in the right perspective by DR.. Oelsner
in his preface to the new edition of Fitz Geralds
Calderon translations, published by Mr.. Alex
ander Moring at the De La More Press in
London. This is, by the way, an exquisitely
made little book The Typography is perfect.
the form of the volume is most convenient, and
in it's binding OF dainty blue and white it pre-
sents, very appropriately. the poet OF Lowells
lines,-
Bird @ of, Of to-day: thy g songs aiT ar are fb stale
MY Ny Ciad59@ aFab Soul pS fH spsnish feahers
We must return however. to DIR. oelsners
preface 1t is useful in the first place because
it indicates very clearly Calderon's position
among Spanish dramatists, and sketches in the
same effective manner the Spaniards fortunes
the English stage. and Fitz Gerald's own
labors and career. But We especially CRATE
fIlto SiziD ha yUhf
should always be kept in mind in reading these
translatons, that they made not for Span
ish scholars, but for the general reader. F1tx
Gerald. writing to Lowell, says:
My Calderon, which you speak of-very many
beside myself with much fair Dramatic
spirit. knowledge of good English and English
Verse, would do quite as well as you think do,
if they would not hamper themselves with forms
of Verse, and Thought, irreconcilable with Eng
lish Language and English Ways of Thinking.
l am persuaded that to keep Life in the Work
(as Drama musD the Translator Chowever In
ferior to his OriginaD must recast that Original
like his Original much the worse, but sttn
the live Dog better than the dead Lion: In
Drama, say.
Chorley wrote his spit" because he hap
pened to be Spanish scholar, and resented
the liberties Fitz Gerald had taken with his
original. Trench the more aIniable because
he felt what DR.. Oelsner feels even more
peculiarities of dramatic metres In Spanish and
still making a good translator. The great
charm of these six productions of Fitz Geralds
is that they are full Of the magic in which
Caderon abounds, the magic Of pure poetry.
The layman who knows, perhaps, nothing what
ever of Spanish draws near to the spirit OF
Calderon, and certainly has great delight, when
he reads a passage like the which moved
Archbishop Trench to sympathy, despite his
deprecatiou of certain elements in Fitz Geralds
work. It occurs in the first of the plays in this
book THE Painter of His Own Dishonour." and
it runs follows:
I'll tell thee, Cello
He who far off beholds another dancing,
Even who dances best, and all the time
Hears not the music that he dances to,
Thinks him madman, apprehending not
The law that rules his else eccentric action
So he that's in himself tnsensble
Of loves sweet influence, misjudges him
Who moves according to loves melody:
And knowing not that all these sghs and tears
CALCULATIONS, and impadences,
Are necessary changes OF a measure,
Which the divine musician plays, may can
The lover which he would not do
Did he within his own heart hear the tune
Playd by the great musician of the world
eolume in the new Macmillan edition of Fitz
Gerald's complete works, to which we have
previously referred in terms of warm commen- |
dation. 1t opens with the two further trans |
lations from Calderon which Fitz Gerald was
not deferred from making, for all that his first