Translating a ballade by Vítězslav Nezval

Three models translating the same Czech poem by Vítězslav Nezval used via the chatbot interface on 03 Jan 2025.

Claude translated the poem replicating the rhyme scheme, other two models had to be prompted to do that. Full model output was included in all cases.

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Prompt

Translate this into English:

Balada první oslovující Françoise Villona 

Z 52 hořkých balad věčného studenta Roberta Davida

Než budu, Mistře, viseti
a než si hodím pod bradu
tu smyčku, jež vše zpečetí,
chci zkusit též tvou baladu.
Mé knoflíčky jsou z perleti.
Ó, kdysi uměl jsem se bavit.
Jsem oběť svého století,
já, věčný student, Robert David.

Či mám snad raděj mlčeti
a pojít někde o hladu?
Muž bez práce, muž bez dětí ...
Ach, div že časem nekradu!
Rád říkám svému děvčeti,
mlč, po smrti mě budou slavit –
a přejedu jí po pleti,
já, věčný student, Robert David.
 
Když probudím se na smetí
a když mám dobrou náladu,
když sen jak motýl přeletí
přes zakázanou ohradu,
tu civím tupě na děti
a nemohu si nepředstavit
ten zázrak, v němž jsme zakleti,
já, věčný student, Robert David.
 
Poslání:
Neublížil jsem kuřeti.
Můj žaludek už přestal trávit.
Umírám s nosem v poupěti,
já, věčný student, Robert David.

Claude 3.5 Sonnet

First Ballad Addressing François Villon

From 52 Bitter Ballads of the Eternal Student Robert David

Before I hang, O Master mine, And slip beneath my chin this day The noose that will my fate define, I'll try your ballad form, I pray. My buttons gleam with pearly shine. Oh, once I knew how to make merry. I'm victim of this age of mine, I, Robert David, scholar weary.

Or should I silently decline And starve somewhere along the way? No work, no children to align... Ah, sometimes theft seems child's play! To my dear girl I oft opine, "Hush, fame comes after cemetery" – Then stroke her skin, so soft and fine, I, Robert David, scholar weary.

When waking midst the trash supine And when good spirits hold their sway, When dreams like butterflies design Their path past fences' banned array, At children's games I dully pine And cannot help but see how very Strange is this spell in which we twine, I, Robert David, scholar weary.

Envoi: No chicken has met harm of mine. My stomach's ceased its culinary. I die with nose in bud divine, I, Robert David, scholar weary.

Commentary

I'll translate this Czech ballad into English while preserving its poetic structure.

I've maintained the original's rhyme scheme (abab) and its overall structure, including the traditional ballade form with three eight-line stanzas and a four-line envoi. I've tried to capture both the literal meaning and the melancholic, self-deprecating tone of the original Czech poem. The repeated refrain "já, věčný student, Robert David" has been translated as "I, Robert David, scholar weary" to maintain both the meaning and the rhyme scheme.

Would you like me to explain any specific parts of the translation or discuss alternative interpretations of certain phrases?

Gemini 2.0 Experimental

Literal translation

This was the complete response to the initial prompt.

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Here's the English translation of the Czech ballad by François Villon, "Balada první oslovující Françoise Villona" from Robert David's "Z 52 hořkých balad věčného studenta":

The First Ballad Addressing François Villon