Glossary entry

English term or phrase:

a pool of dribblings

Chinese translation:

流一堆口水

Added to glossary by Nai-Ching Ting
Jul 25, 2007 06:36
16 yrs ago
English term

a pool of dribblings

English to Chinese Art/Literary Poetry & Literature
I don't quite understand its meaning in this part of the poem of Lawrence.
He couldn't bite 'em he was much too old,
  but he made a pool of dribblings;
  so while the other one heaved her sides
  with moans and hollow bibblings
Proposed translations (Chinese)
3 +3 流一堆口水
Change log

Jul 27, 2007 12:09: Nai-Ching Ting Created KOG entry

Proposed translations

+3
21 mins
Selected

流一堆口水

It comes from a poem of D.H. Lawrence, from the context, I think it may refer to 流一堆口水.

The poem in full text is as follows for reference:

My Naughty Book

(D.H. Lawrence)

They say I wrote a naughty book
With perfectly awful things in it,
putting in all the impossible words
like b___ and f___ and sh__.

Most of my friends were deeply hurt
and haven't forgiven me yet;
I'd loaded the camel's back before
with dirt they couldn't forget.

And now, no really, the final straw
was words like sh__ and f__!
I heard the camel's back to crack
beneath the weight of muck.

Then out of nowhere rushed John Bull,
that mildewed pup, good doggie!
squeakily bellowing for all he was worth,
and slavering wet and soggy.

He couldn't bite 'em he was much too old,
but he made a pool of dribblings;
so while the other one heaved her sides
with moans and hollow bibblings.

He did his best, the good old dog
to support her, the hysterical camel,
and everyone listened and loved it, the
ridiculous bimmel-bammel.

But still, one has no right to take
the old dog's greenest bones
that he's buried now for centuries
bemeath England's garden stones.

And, of course, one has no right to lay
such words to the camel's charge,
when she prefers to have them left
in the W.C. writ large.

Poor homely words. I must give you back
to the camel and the dog,
for her to mumble and him to crack
in secret, great golliwog!

And hereby I apologise
to all my foes and friends
for using words they privately keep
for their own immortal ends.

And henceforth I will never use
more than the chaste, short dash;
so do forgive me! I sprinkle my hair
with grey, repentant ash.


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Note added at 17 hrs (2007-07-26 00:33:44 GMT)
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有来问问的,我们就再来看看这首诗吧。口水一片的家伙是the good old dog,因为他couldn't bite 'em he was much too old,但出场时就正是这般模样:流一堆口水slavering wet and soggy。这首D.H. Lawrence的诗本来就相当颠覆当时的诗坛,因此名家写作的风格中用这样的字眼倒也不足为奇。
Note from asker:
我也是这样觉得的,但是看放在这个诗里面好像又不是特恰如其分的感觉,就来问问。
Peer comment(s):

agree orientalhorizon : 口水一片
1 hr
Thank you!
agree Wenjer Leuschel (X) : Scribblings and bibblings, 这里的 dribblings 是和后头的 bibblings 押韵用的,也很具象。
1 day 3 hrs
謝謝,正是如此呢。回應上一位文友的討論,很是有趣。
agree LoyalTrans
1 day 23 hrs
Thank you!
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3 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "thanks"
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