Poetry Reading Reflection - Aaron

After reading the articles I realized that translating poetry seems to be on a different level compared to what we have been doing in translating texts. The translation of the Noh play Sotoba komachi mentioned in the article adopts a wavelike pattern, reflecting the original Japanese style. But particularly difficult are poems such as haiku and tanka, where there are a specific number of syllables/ words that can be used throughout the entire poem - with haikus adopting a 5/7/5 structure for total of 17 syllables, and tankas having 31 syllables total over five lines. 

The articles bring up that translation's imperfections grant it unique value, transforming a poem into a "second self" when translating sometimes. Both articles mention a balance between faithfulness and creativity that roots a translation to the original but also recreates it organically. Such an example can be shown in the translation of Miyazawa Kenji's 雨にも負ケズ, where the literal translation of a line became "I won't give in to the rain," which he reversed into "Strong in the rain" to better reflect the poem's spirit. 

I agree with the saying mentioned in the second article that "tone is everything," as lack of vitality in the language of a written work "cannot salvage the language."