[R. Nemo Hill]

I love the word. There is no substitute. Use it freely, and perhaps it will return to its rightful and deserved place in a world that has, alas, lost the tongue of lament.

Nemo

[Susan McLean]

I use "alas" ironically in conversation, but I do not use it in translation of ancient works. I usually skip the interjection or try to convey the feeling in other words. I do not want my language to sound archaic, and modern English just does not contain words of lament.

Susan

[ChrisGeorge]

Originally Posted by Andrew Frisardi

In another thread, a member was saying that he sometimes uses and hears the word “alas” in normal conversation, so it’s natural enough to use it in translation of an old poem.

I admit that I cringe when I hear the word in a poem, even an old one (i.e., one recently translated into English). Clearly this is my personal association, a result of conditioning of one kind or another. But I can’t shake the reaction--yet, anyway.

I’m curious as to other people’s experience. Is “alas” a word that’s used still, without irony? How do you feel about its use in translations of old poems?

As in . . . “Alas! my ass is grass!”

It seems that the only alternative in current American idiom for an exclamatory word like this is “Oh, shit!” Which obviously won’t do.

Alas, there is no place for "alas" in most modern poetry. It might have a place, as Susan indicates, if the work is a satire or parody, but not if your poem is to be taken seriously.

All the best

Chris (Alas)

[John Whitworth]

I have used the word 'alas' in at least a dozen poems, including 'A Dream of Naked Women' and 'TUMPS'. This last is a coinage of Wendy Cope's and means 'Totally Useless Male Poets'. I should point out that Wendy agrees I am not a TUMP because I possess, and can drive, a car. The last line of TUMPS is 'And hearts (alas) are trumps.' The formulation 'And hearts (oh shit) are trumps' does not strike this poet's ear as seemly or euphonious.

[Peter Chipman]

I'm with Nemo and John W. on this one. Offhand I don't remember whether I've used "alas" or not, but I would do so without compunction if the situation seemed to warrant it.

(Incidentally, I just got my hardcover copy of Anterooms today, in which Mr. Wilbur writes of "Shocked faces that, alas, / Now know me for an ass.")

Just for fun I ran a New York Times online archive search on instances of "alas" from the Times. Even limiting the search to the past thirty days (is that current enough for you?), there's no shortage of hits:

"The festival’s other defining element, alas, cannot be brought to New York, and that is its special setting, the town of Risor."

"Mr. Harris, the 'How I Met Your Mother' star, who has previously served as the host of those first two awards ceremonies he mentioned, must, alas, continue to wait to complete that personal triple play."

"Alas, that power went to their heads, and filmmakers indulged themselves into a creative dead ends ('At Long Last Love') and financial calamities ('One From the Heart')."

"Alas, that did not stop him from soon becoming a consultant to one of the most leveraged banks of all, Lehman Brothers."

Most of these (with the exception of the Neil Patrick Harris one) aren't especially jocular in tone, either.

[Julie Steiner]

Michael, you're right, the French do have a word for alas. It's hélas. So much better.

Spanish has ¡Ay, caramba!, of course, caramba being a politer substitute oath for carajo, i.e. slang for the male member--sorta like saying fudge instead of...well, you know. Another good Spanish oath is chicharones, which literally means fried pork rinds, but I suspect that its use as an expletive is probably somehow related to the verb chichear, which my dictionary defines as to sound ch or s sharply in sign of displeasure; to hiss and actor or speaker. And you can really get traction on that first syllable--¡CHEEEEEE-cha-RO-nes!--enhanced by the mystical power of that upside-down exclamation point at the beginning.

Personally, I usually say Oh, botheration or, in really dire straits, Oh, boogers. Not only are these expressions satisfying per se, with that nice vehement "b", they also have the bonus of annoying and embarrassing my children, which effectively transfers my exasperation to those around me.

Oh, come on, Susan, post the sonnet! It's a goodie.

[Roger Slater]

Woe Betide

Alas, I lack a lass.
My lass will not come back.
I lack a lass, alas.
A lass I lack, alack.

[Susan McLean]

In response to Julie's request, here's my poem on the subject.

Alas

“I’ve never heard that word from anyone
but you,” my friend Jan comments with a laugh
while reading the translated epitaph
of some poor Roman, dead at twenty-one.

I know I’ve merely said it tongue-in-cheek,
implying mild regret and resignation,
not the aching cry of desolation
and suffering too unbearable to speak.

These days, we’ve lost the language of lament.
We’re taught to suck it up or take a pill
when sorrow strikes. We have more days, and still
once they are gone, we don’t know where they went,
facing the same disasters without warning
or even a vernacular of mourning.

Susan

[Andrew Frisardi]

Originally Posted by Peter Chipman

I'm with Nemo and John W. on this one. Offhand I don't remember whether I've used "alas" or not, but I would do so without compunction if the situation seemed to warrant it.

(Incidentally, I just got my hardcover copy of Anterooms today, in which Mr. Wilbur writes of "Shocked faces that, alas, / Now know me for an ass.")

It seems to work OK for the "connector" function, as Brian said, but still no vernacular of mourning or aching cry of desolation (thanks for the poem, Susan).

[David Anthony]

I take this as a warning.
It's always been a part of my vocabulary but now, alas, I see the word is under threat, even though there is no acceptable substitute.
Use it or lose it.
David