Who nests there?

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When you read "Nesting in the poplar of pearls
It spies and questions green birds twain", what impression will you get? Grammaticaly, it is "It", the lonely swan, nesting in the poplar of pearls.
Do you agree with me?

Context:
A lonely swan from the sea flies,
To alight on puddles it does not deign.
Nesting in the poplar of pearls
It spies and questions green birds twain:
"Don't you fear the threat of slings,
Perched on top of branches so high?
Nice clothes invite pointing fingers,
High climbers god's good will defy.
Bird-hunters will crave me in vain,
For I roam the limitless sky."

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It seems no one wants to offer an answer for this question.

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The sun also rises

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@oristarA,

Quote:

A lonely swan from the sea flies,
To alight on puddles it does not deign.
Nesting in the poplar of pearls
It spies and questions green birds twain:
"Don't you fear the threat of slings,
Perched on top of branches so high?
Nice clothes invite pointing fingers,
High climbers god's good will defy.
Bird-hunters will crave me in vain,
For I roam the limitless sky."

Parts of that are really beautiful - but the lines: 'nice clothes invite pointing fingers and 'Bird-hunters will crave me in vain' don't fit to the point that they disrupt and grate.

But if you're asking whether the pronoun 'it' refers to the lonely swan - I'd say- yes - it does.

Who wrote this?

2 Replies

@aidan,

Quote:

Who wrote this?

I'm guessing ori did. Am I right?

1 Reply

@panzade,

Quote:

I'm guessing ori did. Am I right

If you wrote this - you're talented Oristar. I really like the images it evokes- and I think with a few small revisions, it could be publishable. I googled it to see who it was by because I liked it (for the most part) so much.

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@aidan,

The original work is an ancient Chinese poem by Zhang Jiuling, a noted Premier during the best days of Tang Dynasty, and it is translated by someone else.

In the original work, it is the green bird twain who nest in the poplar of pearls, Aidan. The grammar of the translation is surely leading to misinterpretation.

1 Reply

@oristarA,

Quote:

Grammaticaly, it is "It", the lonely swan, nesting in the poplar of pearls.
Do you agree with me?

Context:

Quote:

A lonely swan from the sea flies,
To alight on puddles it does not deign.
Nesting in the poplar of pearls
It spies and questions green birds twain:

I think it also allows the interpretation that the swan is also nesting, or temporarily resting, there.
But whichever interpretation you adopt, the word 'It' references the swan who is questioning the green birds thus:

Quote:

"Don't you fear the threat of slings,
Perched on top of branches so high?

Quote:

The grammar of the translation is surely leading to misinterpretation.

Quote:

Nice clothes invite pointing fingers,
High climbers god's good will defy.
Bird-hunters will crave me in vain,
For I roam the limitless sky."

Yeah, that would also explain those two awkward lines. Translations are everything to an English speaker who is reading a work originally written in another language. That's why though I love haiku as a form, I get frustrated reading it, because I know the language of the original is probably much more beautiful than that that is offered in translation.

Thanks for posting this Oristar. I really did enjoy it.

1 Reply

@aidan,

Would you mind to explain what "Nice clothes invite pointing fingers" means in your mind?

1 Reply

Quote:

Would you mind to explain what "Nice clothes invite pointing fingers" means in your mind?

People who are comfortably off, and therefore able to afford attractive clothing, make some other people jealous and malicious.

1 Reply

@contrex,

That is it!

Why is the sentence "Nice clothes invite pointing fingers" awkward?

2 Replies

@oristarA,

Quote:

Why is the sentence "Nice clothes invite pointing fingers" awkward?

Is it? It does not seem awkward to me. It is from a poem, remember.

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@oristarA,

Quote:

Would you mind to explain

Would you mind [to] explaining ... ?

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@oristarA,

Quote:

Why is the sentence "Nice clothes invite pointing fingers" awkward?

Because the predominant image in the poem is of birds, nesting, communicating, flying, etc.. And birds sitting in the tops of trees do not wear clothes.
Something along the lines of 'bright plumage' would fit better within the poem, as it's written.

0 Replies

Thanks

Which sentence sounds better?

1) Would you mind to explain something?

2) Would you mind explaining something?

1 Reply

@oristarA,

Quote:

Which sentence sounds better?

1) Would you mind to explain something?

2) Would you mind explaining something?

the second one

1 Reply

@aidan,

Would you like telling me why?

(The sentence above is better than "would you like to tell me why"?)

2 Replies

@oristarA,

Without knowing Chinese, I'm going to guess that it is important to distinguish between formality and informality more so than in English.

Quote:

"would you like to tell me why"?

is rather formal for this forum. "Would you tell me why" is better

But one can choose between these appropriate responses.

1.Tell me why- A demand

2. Please tell me why-A. request

3. Could you please tell me why- A polite request

4. Would you mind telling me why- So polite that it has become almost hostile in everyday usage

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@oristarA,

Quote:

Which sentence sounds better?

1) ??Would you mind to explain something? ??

2) Would you mind explaining something?

As Aidan noted, Ori, number 2 is what you need for #1 isn't used in English. An 'ing form is used with 'would you mind'

Would you mind coming over?

Would you mind helping me with the dishes?

Would you mind carrying this?

Would you mind me feeding your dog a bone?

==================

Quote:

??Would you like telling me why? ??

(The sentence above is better than "would you like to tell me why"?)

And with 'would you like', we use 'to' + infinitive.

Would you like to go to Rome?

Would you like to grab a bite to eat?

Would you like to see a movie?

Would you like to go bodyboarding?

Would you like to visit Jinmin?

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Who nests there?

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