Monday 8 April 2013

G is for ... GRAMMATICAL TRANSLATION


So today is the 8th of April, which must mean that it's the seventh day of the A to Z challenge.  I've decided to share my love of writing through this challenge, and hopefully introduce people to the world of Oulipo.  I first heard about Oulipo when I was at university, and I was fascinated by their approach to writing that I decided to delve deeper into the world of experimental writing.

In a nutshell, this group of writers likes to assign constraints to their work in order to push creative boundaries.  Not only is this fun to do (the process of writing something with a constraint really does open the mind), the results are brilliant.



*****

G is for ... GRAMMATICAL TRANSLATION
"By altering various aspects of grammar, a chosen text can be given a markedly different colouring." 
Oulipo Compendium ed. Harry Matthews & Alastiar Brotchie (London: Atlas Press, 2005) page 154.
*****

So not only can you change the tense of the verbs, you can alter the nouns, adjectives, adverbs, or whatever other grammatical elements you wish.  Either choose a well known text, or try this with one of your own pieces.

The Raven by Edgar Allen Poe

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore,
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
"'Tis some visitor," I muttered, "tapping at my chamber door -
Only this, and nothing more."

**

Once upon a midday bright, while I pondered strong and lively,
Over scarce a usual and normal volume of remembered lore,
While I nodded, nearly waking, expectantly there came a tapping,
As of some one abruptly rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
"'Tis some visitor," I yelled, "tapping at my chamber door - 
Only this, and something more."

*****

I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.


**

I could have wandered lonely as a cloud
That might have floated on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I could have seen a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Possibly fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

*****

Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? 
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer's lease hath all too short a date: 
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimm'd; 
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest;
Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou growest: 
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this and this gives life to thee.


**

I won't compare you to a summer's day.
Thou aren't more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds don't shake the darling buds of May,
And summer's lease doesn't have all too short a date:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven doesn't shine,
And often his gold complexion isn't dimm'd;
And every fair from fair never declines,
By chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd;
But thy eternal summer shall fade
And lose possession of that fair thou owest;
And Death shall brag thou wander'st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou don't growest:
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this and gives life to thee.

*****

Hmm, maybe working with Shakespeare isn't the easiest thing to do, but it is interesting to see how something turns out if you change the tense or tone.

10 comments:

  1. I love this, it seems like such fun :). I especially like the Wordworth change.

    Tasha's Thinkings

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    1. Thank you. It was quite interesting to do, to take something well-known and change the meaning just by altering a few words.

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  2. Working with Shakespeare, not easy?! I'll have to agree with you there. I modernised some scenes from As You Like It for a university class a few years ago. The result was fun, but the work sure wasn't!

    Cheers (again) from Brandy at brandysbustlings.blogspot.ca

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    1. Thank you for stopping by. I've never been a fan of Shakespeare. I think we have it rammed down our throats throughout our school life that it becomes more of a chore than a joy to study!

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  3. I have just discovered pataphysics and have been reading a ton about it (it's related to Oulipo). So nice to see others playing with these ideas! And nice work!

    Ruby is participating in the A to Z Challenge
    Ruby Wilbur

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    Replies
    1. Thank you for your comment. I have to admit that I do own a pataphysics book, but haven't opened it (tut tut me). I just bury my head inside the Oulipo Compendium. It's one of my favourite books. I'm so glad I studied Oulipo at university, as it really has broadened my writing repertoire.

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  4. Fun stuff! I don't really have a way to do this one in the comments as I normally do ... oh wait! ...
    Fun stuff! I would have had a way to have done this one in the comments as I normally would have done ... oh you could have waited! :)

    From A to Z, Kristen's blog: kristenhead.blogspot.com

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