Russian literature translated into rhyming English - that could go wrong a million ways. In 1832 Alexander Pushkin published the final version of his novel about the eternal bachelor Eugene Onegin. The novel is comprised of eight chapters written in stanzas of iambic tetrameter with a unique rhyming scheme. The book has been translated many times and the James Falen translation is now available as an audio book, greatly performed by Stephen Fry. The files can be downloaded in two ways Fry Reads Onegin Zip and Fry Reads Onegin from iTunes. Delightful and exquisite. I wish I could compare it to the original.
Monday, June 10, 2013
Stephen Fry reads Eugene Onegin (Pushkin)
Russian literature translated into rhyming English - that could go wrong a million ways. In 1832 Alexander Pushkin published the final version of his novel about the eternal bachelor Eugene Onegin. The novel is comprised of eight chapters written in stanzas of iambic tetrameter with a unique rhyming scheme. The book has been translated many times and the James Falen translation is now available as an audio book, greatly performed by Stephen Fry. The files can be downloaded in two ways Fry Reads Onegin Zip and Fry Reads Onegin from iTunes. Delightful and exquisite. I wish I could compare it to the original.
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3 comments:
Wow
Thanks Anne
>I wish I could compare it to the original.
It is surprisingly close, i must say. Personally, i have never thought that there is a translation of Pushkin's verses into English made with so much care and love paid to the original.
Fry's voice, at the same time, makes it even better.
True!
I'm so thankful to James and Stephen I can't express it well enough. You can just feel the care and respect in every line.
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