“Les Conquérants” de José Maria de Hérédia

From the very end of the 19th century, this poem is the incarnation of The French “Parnasse” movement. It appeared in reaction to Romanticism, and rehabilitates the work on the perfection of language and style, and preaches for impersonality. The purpose of the poet is to make his poem a symbol of beauty, poetry perfection. Hérédia will take us into the travels and hopes of Conquistadors, a very important moment of Human History.

1 РPo̬me

Comme un vol de gerfauts hors du charnier natal,
Fatigués de porter leurs misères hautaines,
De Palos de Moguer, routiers et capitaines
Partaient, ivres d’un rêve héroïque et brutal.

[poetry-adblock]Ils allaient conquérir le fabuleux métal
Que Cipango mûrit dans ses mines lointaines,
Et les vents alizés inclinaient leurs antennes
Aux bords mystérieux du monde occidental.

Chaque soir, espérant des lendemains épiques,
L’azur phosphorescent de la mer des Tropiques
Enchantait leur sommeil d’un mirage doré ;

Où, penchés à l’avant de blanches caravelles,
Ils regardaient monter en un ciel ignoré
Du fond de l’Océan des étoiles nouvelles.

José Maria de Hérédia, Les Trophées, 1893.

2 – Traduction

Like a falcons flight, far from their natal mass grave,
Tired of carrying their haughty misery,
From Palos de Moguer, crews and captains
Were leaving, drunk with an heroic and brutal dream.

[adblock]They were conquering the fabulous metal
That Cipango matured in his far-off mines,
And the trade winds led their antennas
To the mysterious edges of the occidental world.

Every evening, hoping for epic tomorrows,
The tropic seas’ phosphorescent blue,
Enchanted their sleep with a golden mirage;

Leaning forward, in their white caravels,
They watched rising up in an unknown sky
From the Ocean depths new stars.

José Maria de Hérédia, Les Trophées, 1893