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18 comments:
Dear group,
My name is Molly and I am a freshman at Clemson University. I am currently enrolled in World Literature. I have decided to discuss the two English translations of the first poem.
I find that these differ in terms of word choice. A few contrasting words and phrases are significant in indicating that each translator has presented the poem in a way that caters to their own personal interpretations.
I first consider the titles, with Robert Bly’s translation being titled “Track” and May Swenson’s translation being titled “Tracks.” I gather that Bly feels that the person mentioned has reached a dead end and there is no alternative path. However, from Swenson’s translation it seems hat the person is being faced with the decision of which path to follow and must now decide.
In the beginning lines Swenson writes, “The train has stopped in the middle of the plain” (1-2), while Bly says, “The train has stopped out in a field” (1-2). Here the words field and plain contrast. Bly’s use of field gives a sense of being stranded. Swenson’s use of plain gives the sense of establishment. Another contrast occurs when Bly writes, “far off sparks of light from a town flickering” (2) and Swenson writes, “distant bright points of a town twinkle” (2). Bly conveys despair with the use of flickering. Swenson’s description seems hopeful due to the word twinkling.
Lastly, the final lines reinforce each translator’s interpretation. In Bly’s translation the line “The train is entirely motionless” (10) supports his view of reaching a dead end. In Swenson’s translation the line “The train stands perfectly still” (10) supports her view of choosing the right path. In addition, in terms of a theme, I believe that hope versus despair is interesting when analyzing the translations.
Kind regards,
Molly C.,
Clemson University
Hello everyone,
My name is Daniel and I am a student at the computer science department at Chalmers University. That is I usually don't study courses in literature, so my analysis may seem a little weird.
So my first comment is about "Spår" i.e "Track" and "Tracks" respectively translated. The phrase Im going for is "Tåget står fullkomligt stilla" at line 16. It gets translated to "The train is entirely motionless" in Bly and "The train stands perfectly still" in Swenson. To me this captures the motionless nature of this poem, nothing moves forward.
This is connected to "att hon aldrig ska minnas att hon var där" ("he will never remember he was there" - Bly, similar for Swenson) that if you don't remember that you were at some place when you return, have something really changed? So we get different interpretations of motionless, the physical in the train, the poetic in that now event occurs in the poem, and also a philosophical one if you would be the same, or hasn't changed, if you can't remember it. Though I must say that the last one is more of my own interpretation.
Before I leave "Spår" I can add a small technical note about it. In Swedish when you don't know the gender you usually use female (she) and that is used here as well, except for the person who is sick that for some reason is a he. May or may not be interesting to discuss why Tranströmer would make that distinction.
Finally I have from "Andrum: Juli" ("Breathing Space July") the sentence "They have silver-gray posts and boulders in their gut." from Bly. I don't know what it is but I find this amusing, maybe it is the humanification of the docks? It may not be the central piece of the poem but it certainly the one that I think of the most.
That will end my letter dot.
Daniel G.
Chalmers Univ.
Hello group,
My name is Suvi and I am a student at my third year at the Biotechnology program at Chalmers, so this course, ”Fiction for engineers”, is a well needed breathing space (haha) for me.
I will divide my comments on “I det fria” into the three sections of the poem:
1. In Tranströmer’s version I got the feeling of somebody losing track, and when it is getting darker, one has to get out of “the forest” and relocate what is supposed to make sense (9-10). In Swanson’s version we have “locating some landmarks” which does not give the same emotion of someone lost trying to convince himself of there being a purpose after all. Bly’s version got the “again” and to me, his translation was a stronger description of this state of mind than the original.
2. The passage where the windows flow together ends in with violence seeming unreal. For a moment. In Tranströmer’s version, there is a certain punch in the “for a moment” which I do not dare to try to translate properly, that lacks in Swanson’s version but is there in Bly’s. Swanson gives away the end with telling us so soon that this feeling only lasts a brief second; Violence FOR A MOMENT seems unreal. Tranströmer and Bly are trying to shock us, everything seems fine. For now.
3. The last part is full of contrasts, with sun and shadow, the symbolism of a man working in the soil contra being in the middle of the cross; a symbol of civilization, the cross hanging in the vault as something fixed in a rush. In my interpretation, Swanson’s version gives the most contrasting end, with “instantaneous photograph of something in rapid motion”.
It is difficult to say which translation is the better and there is a lot more to say about these versions so I am looking forward for your comments!
Best regards,
Suvi P. Chalmers University of Technology
Dear group,
My name is Aaron Thomas and I’m currently a student at Clemson University. I’m an English major and enrolled in the 212 World Literature class. The poem “Track” is the poem I’m looking at and its two translations. I’m interested mostly in the diction used in the two English translations of the poem. Bly uses the actual number 2 as a way to start off the poem whereas Swenson types out the time and is a bit more formal. Typing out the number lends the poem to a more organic feel, but that may not necessarily be the mood the author was attempting to set. I feel like Bly’s translation of the poem gives the read a truer impression of the author’s intent. This is shown in the variation in diction, such as when Bly uses the word “flickering” and Swenson uses “twinkle”. Clearly flickering is a much more mature adaptation of the word, twinkle seems too childish. The overall feeling I’m left with, with each of the poems is one of stagnation, loneliness. Swenson’s translation is too colloquial and that lends itself to a much less lonely interpretation. Bly’s translation is almost cryptic in the passage “as when a man goes so deep into his dream he will never remember he was there when he returns again to his view.” The straying away from colloquial speech does this translation justice in coming across as lonely. Another point, off the topic of diction is the fact that Bly’s translation stays true to the form of the original poem while Swenson’s does not. Overall I feel as though Bly did a much better job in recreating the true feeling of the poem than Swenson did, mostly through the use of stronger and more mature diction, but also in the realm of form.
Dear group,
Both of the translations of,”Spar,” seem to be very easily read and therefore, seemingly simple to understand. However, I am finding it quite difficult to find the connection between the stanzas. The only possible connection that I can think of is that the people that are being described are actually passengers on the train. The opening stanza seems to describe a dream-like scene that the passenger could be seeing in his dream. To me, it seems like the first passenger could be in the midst of a dream while he is on the train, not being able to differentiate between reality and the setting that he sees in his dream. The second passenger seems to be in the same situation as the first, being in a state of mind in which he cannot tell the difference between reality and the foggy state of mind that this kind of sickness can put somebody in. I also think it is very interesting the way that the sparks of light from the first stanza kind of come back into the poem in the third stanza when he is describing the way that the days seem to run together, becoming, “flickering sparks.” I believe this is a very strong way of connecting the stanzas when there is no logical connection at first glance. I think it is very interesting that there are two different translations of the same poem still have parallels between the third and the first stanzas. in the first translation, the world used is sparks and in the second translation it is the idea of twinkling lights. I would find it very interesting to read the different ideas that the Swedish students have, considering they have the capability of reading it in the original language and nothing could be lost in translation.
Sincerely,
Brian Symmes
Letter 2
==========
Hello everyone,
So it seems most of our focused on the poem the first poem "Spår", so I will focus on that one. But before that I like to reiterate that I'm a computer science guy, and therefore analyse the poem different.
The thought that Brian points out that it describe that the people described in it is actually passengers I find to actually fit in. When I first read it I read it more in the sense of that it describes the environment. We see the train from a distant. I think I got this feeling because of the text starts with "as when" when introducing the people, which got me into that it describes something is like a persons experience.
In Molly's text I am a little uncertain what it is that makes stopping at at field feel like being stranded in contrast to plain that would be more safe. Usually when thinking about fields (i.e. when not doing algebra) I'm thinking of field of something. Whereas a plain
is empty, almost dead. So in that regard I believe that Swenson is adding more of a feeling of despair than Bly. But I do agree that twinkle seems more positive than flickering, and flickering is in my opinion more true to Tranströmer's use of "flimrande". As "flimra" is more that it pass by more quickly, the different lights of city go oscillate between being visible or not. Where twinkle would be more of a longer period of time, and it wouldn't
stop shining.
This has been an interesting experience, and I notice that I have a small habit of when analysing text to think of it more literally than what I maybe should. So I it was nice to see all of your comments of the text, and that you where able to find more differences in t
he translations.
best wishes.
Daniel G.
Chalmers
Letter 2
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Hi again,
It was interesting to read Aaron’s interpretation of “Track” since my impression was the opposite. Writing 2 A.M. gives Blys version a more digital, urban feel. I agree on the flickering lights being more suitable for the poems original feel, and since “flimrande” (which I would translate as flickering) is a good way to describe for example a TV that is flickering. This also adds to an electronic feeling.
I also thought about the gender issue mentioned by Daniel. The man (going sick) never really gets back to “reality”, only observes it from the horizon, whereas the woman return to her room/view but does not remember so. I am not quite sure of why this distinction is made either.
Regarding Molly’s comment on the plain and the field, I did not think of the difference in the words before her remark. The plain is a more correct (literally) translation, and convey a “bigger”, more hopeful feeling than Bly’s field which seems more narrow, a tighter space. This also goes with Molly’s feeling of Swanson being more hopeful than Bly, and with Aaron’s thoughts of Swanson being more childish (I read naïve when combined with Molly’s comments).
Brian noticed the connection between the first and the third stanzas, flickering and twinking and flimrande returns, as well as horizon and synrand. Considering horizon, the Swedish word synrand is, to me, something more subjective than just any horizon, it feels more like “my” horizon, a personal one. Or maybe it simply sounds better in the text, as the Swedish word “horisont” might be too scientific? Anyhow, the return of horizon, which in the first stanza is describing a picture, and in the third one symbolising a mental horizon, perhaps?
Thank you all for interesting reading!
Best,
Suvi P.
Letter 2
Hello,
There were a few responses I found particularly interesting. Daniel, I wanted to explain in more in detail my contrasting of field and plain. I tend to think abstractly, so when I say field as in being stranded because the line says, “The train has stopped out in a field. Far off sparks of light from a town, flickering codly on the horizon,” I think of being out of reach of any civilization. However, the line in Swanson’s translation says, “The train has stopped in the middle of the plain. Distant bright points of a town twinkle on the cold horizon.” This causes me to think of being in the middle as in not sure which way to go, but in one of the directions bright lights twinkle, not flicker, making civilization seem more accessible.
Suvi, I also think Swanson didn’t capture the same emotion as the original, and Bly’s translation is a stronger description of this “state of mind” than the original. Although I am not able to read Swedish, Bly’s version is definitely more descriptive than Swanson’s and gives a clearer picture of what is going on in the poem. I feel like Swanson’s version is slightly one dimensional, and she seems to be simply translating the words of the original into English and not adding a sense of personal touch to the piece.
Aaron, I agree that Bly’s translation better captures the mood of the original. Swanson seems to present a watered down version of the poem, and after reading your observations about Swanson’s version being slightly less effective, this could be why I observed two different meanings of the poem from the translations. Maybe the poem wasn’t meant to convey a sense of hope at all, and her formality gave me the wrong idea.
Sincerely,
Molly C.
Hello to everyone,
I realized, after reading my first comment for a second time, that I failed to formally introduce myself. So, here it goes. I am Brian Symmes and I also attend Clemson University and I am studying English as my major. While I enjoy reading and analyzing poetry, I do realize that I tend to have an odd opinion in most cases so you guys will need to bear with me one last time.
I did enjoy reading everyone’s comments on the first poem, and thought that all of them were very interesting. However, I did find a few comments exceptionally intriguing. In regards to Aaron’s comment, I really liked the way that you expressed the idea that Swanson’s translation of the poem seemed to be a little bit less effective when it came to getting the point across. I agree that Bly’s version seemed to capture more of the author’s original purposes for what the poem was meant to convey. I also liked the points that you made on the overall diction of the two contrasting poems. Bly’s version does seem to use stronger diction that helps the reader feel the emotions that the original author intended.
Daniel, I also really enjoyed your, “technical note,” about the poem “Spar.” From the beginning of this project, I felt that this would be the most interesting dynamic to the whole thing. As I initially stated, I was interested in whether or not there was anything lost in the translation. The idea that characters in the poem are all referred to in a feminine sense except for one is very interesting to me. While I don’t have the slightest clue as to what this could mean, it does add something else that the reader can ponder on.
Sincerely,
Brian Symmes
Hello everyone,
I enjoyed reading everyone’s comments on the poems and the multiple views on them, it really helped me to understand them better and get different perspectives on them. I shared the same opinion with Molly when it came to word choice, though I didn’t express it in my own letter. Her interpretation of the poems, Bly’s being about despair and Swenson’s being about hope, was one I didn’t pick up on when first reading through the text, but she backed it up with textual references and that helped me to see where she was coming from.
Daniel’s interpretation of the poems conveying motionlessness is one that I also expressed in my letter. I liked the way he approached it and exemplified it, with the line, “he will never remember he was there.” I wouldn’t have picked this particular line to express being motionless, though when Daniel did and explained why it made sense as to how he came to his conclusion.
I found that Brian’s interpretation of the poems was far different from the others, and thus, I was happy to read something that wasn’t agreeable or similar to my answer or the other’s answers. I liked the way he pointed out the connection in stanzas with the reoccurrence of the word flickering, or twinkling, depending on the poem. I didn’t see where he got the idea of there being multiple people in the text however. There was a little disconnection with the stanzas, I thought, at first but upon reading it over a few times the meaning and connection became more concrete, and I failed to see where Brian got multiple passengers. Though I don’t personally see where the connection is made with there being multiple passengers it’s still a valid interpretation backed up with citing of the text.
Overall, going back and reading through everyone’s comments helped me to better understand the poems and gain new perspective on something I had thought I nailed down. Thank you to everyone that responded.
Letter 3
Dear group, I think the second letters proved that we share some of the same ideas, and also that our disagreements served as drive behind our conversation.
Suvi, in your comment on gender roles in "Spår" you share my confusion about this distinction. Going back to when Daniel mentioned that unknown genders are referred to as female in Swedish, it is interesting that Tranströmer would refer to this “sickly” person as a male. The first thing that comes to my mind is that since the poem was written in the fifties that there may have been an issue of female repression.
Aaron, your response to Daniel’s selection of the line “he will never remember he was there” caused me to come to a realization. This is because even though our opinions differ in terms of where the motionlessness of the poem occurs, we all agree that there is an overall lonely tone and this is projected through some type of motionless element, wherever it may be.
Overall, throughout this cultural exchange I have developed a new perspective on the interpretation of poetry. First, I was intrigued by our interpretations when considering our locations and majors. Since our group members from Sweden were able to read the original work , I feel that they could form a deeper connection with Tranströmer’s piece, where as Americans we had to rely on translations in hopes of grasping his intentions within the feelings of Bly and Swenson. To me this says that culturally, poetry is a way of finding a central message or idea that proves true in any language. Concerning our different majors, it seems that we as English majors seemed to have a more abstract approach to poetry, where as the science majors tended to take a more literal and technical approach to the poems. This is great, because we are able to incorporate both ends of the spectrum into our discussions. Ultimately, I have gathered that a poem itself has an initial meaning, but its interpretation is unique to each person who reads it.
This painting reminds me of “Tracks” and when I look at it, I see a person who is contemplating between a more established territory and a questionable one, which matches my interpretation of the poem. More abstractly, I see chaos in the middle of tranquility, which seems to represent the mindset of the character in the poem.
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.joshua-meyer.com/laradetail.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.joshua-meyer.com/interview.html&usg=__utaYhL65oV3LWABNS_ayAf4xd04=&h=381&w=360&sz=57&hl=en&start=1&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=elwYJe0g9HB6KM:&tbnh=123&tbnw=116&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dabstract%2Bdecision%2Bmaking%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26tbs%3Disch:1
Letter 3
========
Hello,
I have found this exchange to be jolly good fun, although it has taken quite some time for me to just stare, re-read and stare some more at both poem and commentary. Have to say though that at first I was a little terrified seeing all from Clemsen being English majors, what could possibly a little computer engineer bring to the table? But I have to say I have really enjoyed reading all your comments.
Regarding Suvi's point about "synrand" contra "horisont", I am not sure which of them actually is more scientific or technical. I think the word synrand is just more poetic than horisont but that maybe because you will hear the word horisont more often and therefore think of synrand as exotic word (at least I don't use it in my standard vocabulary). So it is probably just because it sounds better, or could be the time it was written. It is over fifty years, so how you express yourself now is different. For example, now we use more Swedish words which is similar to the English words (horisont -> horizon), almost to the point we are using them as if they meant what they mean in English even though they may have a
slightly different meaning in Swedish.
To Aaron and Brian regarding the true feeling of the poem, you both seem to opt for Bly as the one that stays most true to the original. I think you are spot on regarding that flickering is more appropriate than twinkle, which has been discussed in other mails. But there exist another point which I think both sort of missed (I noticed it now aswell not seeing it before). Tranströmmer focuses on "så djupt" at to points, Swenson the second occurrence with "And as when someone goes into a sickness so deep" that it ends with so deep. But she could have used this aswell in "As when someone has gone into a dream so far" and use deep instead of far. It would be more consistent with Tranströmmers, and since we already have that "flicker" reoccur it would make sense if "so deep" did as well.
Finally the more creative bit, now this may be a little strange but when thinking about the motionless bit I come to think about movies like ground-hog day and sci-fi series where the characters gets to relive the same thing. But to make story go further they get to take some knowledge with them. Here is my video in that theme:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6ajN8asJGs
Happy wishes
Daniel :)
Mollys explanation of her understanding of the difference between plain and field really gave me a new dimension of the poem, and when re-reading “Spår” I could reevaluate my first thought of that line. Now, it seems more as if one is lost in a landscape far away from sanity, yet still being aware of the madness one’s in (the city is visible in the distant). This feeling is something that I see repeatedly throughout the poems presented. The madness vs sanity doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with mental illness, but a disease of detachment from ones surroundings and emotions. “I det fria” begins with a maze, perhaps symbolizing this confusion and detachment, and maybe even the struggle to find one self. In “Andrum: Juli” we have the illustration of being a part of the branches of the tree at the same time as you lay beneath it. This picture is to me something positive, a sign of being healthy, (what I interpret to be Tranströmers view of healthy) when you are able to observe a phenomenon and have the imagination to try to understand what it would be like to be a part of it.
The gender issue in the poems, mentioned by a few of us, made me look twice with this perspective. One thing that I thought of was that in “I det fria” where the man is digging/ poking in the field, the choice of male gender might be an indication of Tranströmer originating from a Christian context with the man being central.
I found it surprising and interesting that having different translations and the original helped me to understand the poems better than only the original itself. The comments from the English students also played a major role in this understanding, since they helped me understand the translations and less was lost in the translation of the translation. I’ve always been aware of the choice of words in a poem being very important, but now I feel like I got some hands-on examples to illustrate this importance.
My overall feeling of Tranströmer is nostalgia and a sense of a breaking-point between old and new. I felt it in “Andrum: Juli”, with the squinting towards the water and the ageing docks is a very good description of my own memories of Swedish summers in the archipelago. I felt it in “Spår”, with the train being entirely motionless, to me symbolizing some kind of conservatism; we see the future but hesitate to move forward because of fear. The usage of “ultra-rapid” in both “I det fria” and “Andrum: Juli” also connects the poems with a feeling of a wheel that spin too fast. I would like to illustrate these feelings with a photo series you can find on my (not so amazing) blog.
Thank you all for this very interesting exchange! Take care!
Suvi P, Chalmers
Letter 3
===========
Sorry forgot about the link!
===============
Mollys explanation of her understanding of the difference between plain and field really gave me a new dimension of the poem, and when re-reading “Spår” I could reevaluate my first thought of that line. Now, it seems more as if one is lost in a landscape far away from sanity, yet still being aware of the madness one’s in (the city is visible in the distant). This feeling is something that I see repeatedly throughout the poems presented. The madness vs sanity doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with mental illness, but a disease of detachment from ones surroundings and emotions. “I det fria” begins with a maze, perhaps symbolizing this confusion and detachment, and maybe even the struggle to find one self. In “Andrum: Juli” we have the illustration of being a part of the branches of the tree at the same time as you lay beneath it. This picture is to me something positive, a sign of being healthy, (what I interpret to be Tranströmers view of healthy) when you are able to observe a phenomenon and have the imagination to try to understand what it would be like to be a part of it.
The gender issue in the poems, mentioned by a few of us, made me look twice with this perspective. One thing that I thought of was that in “I det fria” where the man is digging/ poking in the field, the choice of male gender might be an indication of Tranströmer originating from a Christian context with the man being central.
I found it surprising and interesting that having different translations and the original helped me to understand the poems better than only the original itself. The comments from the English students also played a major role in this understanding, since they helped me understand the translations and less was lost in the translation of the translation. I’ve always been aware of the choice of words in a poem being very important, but now I feel like I got some hands-on examples to illustrate this importance.
My overall feeling of Tranströmer is nostalgia and a sense of a breaking-point between old and new. I felt it in “Andrum: Juli”, with the squinting towards the water and the ageing docks is a very good description of my own memories of Swedish summers in the archipelago. I felt it in “Spår”, with the train being entirely motionless, to me symbolizing some kind of conservatism; we see the future but hesitate to move forward because of fear. The usage of “ultra-rapid” in both “I det fria” and “Andrum: Juli” also connects the poems with a feeling of a wheel that spin too fast. I would like to illustrate these feelings with a photo series you can find on my (not so amazing) blog.
Thank you all for this very interesting exchange! Take care!
Suvi P, Chalmers
Link: http://awesome-amazingness.blogspot.com/2010/04/poetry-exchange.html
Dear group,
Through the process of sending, receiving, and reflecting on letters about the poem “Tracks” I have gained perspective on the poem as a specific work, but also on the genre of poetry in general. I have always known there are many different ways to approach a poem and take meaning from it, but this experience, by far, has been the best medium by which to see how multiple views can be valid and how different ideas can mesh together and form concrete images of tone. Reading over the second letters was a great way to see how others viewed not the poem, but individual’s responses to the poems; they did it in a very mature and constructive way. Suvi commented on my comment being opposite of how she interpreted the piece and backed up her claim with textual evidence. Molly’s response on how I viewed each poem stated that her interpretation of the poem was swayed by the claims I made. These two examples, Suvi’s and Molly’s responses, show how I was both opened to new ideas and opened new ideas up to the group. The group as a whole experienced this situation of gaining new perspective while also giving new perspective.
An important factor in this project is the fact that we were examining translated poems and discussing the content with speakers of the poem’s native tongue. This unique opportunity allowed for a broader view of the work. Being able to read the poem in its original language allowed the Swedish students to give us some insight to the poem we would have never had. For example, in the first series of letters, Daniel stated that, “In Swedish when you don't know the gender you usually use female (she) and that is used here as well, except for the person who is sick that for some reason is a he.” This gave way for some discussion among some of the members in our group.
The picture I chose to represent some aspect of the poem was a concrete sculpture of an abstract figure. The very nature of this picture is what drew me to it. The poem creates an abstract feeling of loneliness, an emotion that can be portrayed in countless ways, but then grounds that abstract feeling with concrete images. The picture can be seen as a sort of physical manifestation of the poem. Oddly, the sculpture also resembles the piece of the train that guards the wheels; though this is a completely subjective view of the piece, but nevertheless another feature that reminded me of the poem.
Aaron Thomas
Letter 3
Group,
One of my favorite parts of this assignment is having the ability to dive into other people’s opinions about a play that I have previously formed my own opinions. The best way to describe this is through examples of ideas that I particularly enjoyed. Aaron’s response to my first entry was very challenging because of his disagreeing with me. Considering I am one of the most competitive people that I know, this challenged me to re-evaluate the poem and my response and either deny or back up my first argument. This made me have a better understanding of the poem, no matter what the outcome of my second evaluation was. With that said, I do still back up my idea of there still being more than one passenger because of the fact that good poetry, in my opinion, often times has a different meaning for each reader. If the meaning of this poem was not up for discussion and didn’t have many possible interpretations, our professors would not have given it to us for this assignment.
In regards to Daniel’s response on my second letter, it had a completely different effect on me. In this type of situation, I believe it is important to have confidence in your own opinions so that you are willing and able to share them with the group. This is what Daniel’s response did for me because I found it very encouraging know that my opinion helped formulate somebody else’s opinion on the play.
I believe that both of these responses are very important because they show what type of effect this kind of assignment can have. While Aaron’s response challenged me to look at the poem more critically and maybe initially discouraged me, it was very important for my final understanding of the poem in question. Daniel’s response was completely different but was equally important because it gave me the confidence to keep on writing and sharing my ideas, which in turn, helps the group as a whole. I believe that the different cultural backgrounds played a big part in the surprisingly, positive outcome of our blog because of the different opinions that Daniel and Suvi were able to share with us because of their knowledge of the Swedish language and ability to decipher the original text.
Below is my choice for the piece of media that I chose to portray the poem “Tracks.” It is a purely instrumental song that seems to give the same feeling as the poem. Imagine the soft bass drum being the heartbeat of the dreaming passenger or the heart beat of the person that is in a deep sickness. Also, the entire song seems to put the listener into a dream like state that is essential in the tone of the song
Good luck to all,
Brian Symmes
oh and here is a link to the song.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0o8JCxjjpM
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