I’m glad the DG admires this, and God knows verse translators need all the encouragement they can get, but I’m finding it hard to share 007’s enthusiasm. The translator hasn’t made life easy for us, either in the wording of the English version or in the layout of the interleaved Spanish text and literal translation.
There are a couple of questionable moments in the literal version. For example, why does the translator think that “infinita algarabía” means “infinite of gabble”? This isn’t a trivial matter: the English sonnet is pretty hard to understand, whereas the Borges original is crystal clear.
I don’t at all mind translators taking liberties with the original text, but the gains need to outweigh the losses. It’s a pity that the translator resorted to adding a “seem” (for the sake of the rhyme). And the needle’s swaying is a weak substitute for the beauties of “lúcida y leve” and “tiende su empeño”. In Borges the needle isn’t passive, but determinedly active.
The result is a mistily Romantic vision; very un-Borgesian.
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