Character Thursday: Cyrano de Bergerac

Imagine D'Artagnan. Now imagine Pablo Neruda. Now imagine Japanese tengu or Petruk puppet doll. Combine them all together. That's how Edmond Rostand made his Cyrano.

Gerard Depardieu as
Cyrano de Bergerac

Cyrano is a Gascon, a brave and honourable soldier, but at the same time reckless and proud. He's as skilled in swordmanship as well as in words. Yes, this terrible soldier is also a poet. He has one weakness, however: his nose. His nose is so big that he feels very much ugly. He feels that nobody will ever be able to love him.

I have mixed feelings towards this character. I love his courage and valour. Fighting a duel while finishing a poem, fighting against outnumbering enemies, taking a scarf from the enemies. He gains praise even from D'Artagnan himself. It's something to be boast about, right?

Placido Domingo as
Cyrano de Bergerac

Yet, in the matter of love, I think I must pity him. A friend has shown him that even with his looks he can win still woman's affection. But he has so little confidence in himself. He should know that the thing within is more interesting than the outward look. He must learn it bitterly in the end, when everything is too late.

One more thing about him. When he writes those poems and letters for Roxane, borrowing Christian's name, he truly does it with all his heart. Doing that thing, he feels that at least a part of him is beloved by Roxane. Christian, however, points out to him that it's better to be loved fully for what we really are.

Cyrano's story really reminds me of Placido Domingo's video clip, Paloma Querida. When you watch it, you will understand what the drama is all about. It actually resembles the play so much I start to think that Domingo borrowed the concept from thence. Enjoy.

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Character Thursday

Adalah book blog hop di mana setiap blog memposting tokoh pilihan dalam buku yang sedang atau telah dibaca selama seminggu terakhir (judul atau genre buku bebas).

- Kalian bisa menjelaskan mengapa kalian suka/benci tokoh itu, sekilas kepribadian si tokoh, atau peranannya dalam keseluruhan kisah.

- Jangan lupa mencantumkan juga cover buku yang tokohnya kalian ambil.

- Kalau buku itu sudah difilmkan, kalian juga bisa mencantumkan foto si tokoh dalam film, atau foto aktor/aktris yang kalian anggap cocok dengan kepribadian si tokoh.

Syarat Mengikuti :

1. Follow blog Fanda Classiclit sebagai host, bisa lewat Google Friend Connect (GFC) atau sign up via e-mail (ada di sidebar paling kanan). Dengan follow blog ini, kalian akan selalu tahu setiap kali blog ini mengadakan Character Thursday Blog Hop.

2. Letakkan button Character Thursday Blog Hop di posting kalian atau di sidebar blog, supaya follower kalian juga bisa menemukan blog hop ini. Kodenya bisa diambil di kotak di button.

3. Buat posting dengan menyertakan copy-paste “Character Thursday” dan “Syarat Mengikuti” ke dalam postingmu.

3. Isikan link (URL) posting kalian ke Linky di bawah ini. Cantumkan nama dengan format: Nama blogger @ nama blog, misalnya: Fanda @ Fanda Classiclit.

4. Jangan lupa kunjungi blog-blog peserta lain, dan temukan tokoh-tokoh pilihan mereka. Dengan begini, wawasan kita akan bertambah juga dengan buku-buku baru yang menarik

Bad Translation: As You Like It

Untuk Bad Translation saya langsung tulis pakai Bahasa Indonesia saja ya. Toh kalaupun ditulis pakai Bahasa Inggris pada akhirnya yang mengerti juga orang Indonesia lagi. Haha.

Kali ini saya mencomot beberapa adegan dari As You Like It karya William Shakespeare. Karya ini ditulis sebagai komedi, jadi seharusnya memang lucu. Sebenarnya saya sama sekali tidak yakin bahwa seluruh komedi yang ada di sana bisa dibuat sama menariknya sewaktu diterjemahkan, terutama karena jurang pemisah antara zaman dan budaya dari waktu komedi tersebut dibuat. Tapi seperti biasa saya akan mencoba.

TOUCHSTONE.
Of a certain knight that swore by his honour they were
good pancakes, and swore by his honour the mustard was naught.
Now I'll stand to it, the pancakes were naught and the mustard
was good, and yet was not the knight forsworn.
CELIA.
How prove you that, in the great heap of your knowledge?
ROSALIND.
Ay, marry, now unmuzzle your wisdom.
TOUCHSTONE.
Stand you both forth now: stroke your chins, and swear
by your beards that I am a knave.
CELIA.
By our beards, if we had them, thou art.
TOUCHSTONE.
By my knavery, if I had it, then I were. But if you
swear by that that not, you are not forsworn; no more was this
knight, swearing by his honour, for he never had any; or if he
had, he had sworn it away before ever he saw those pancackes or
that mustard.

Translasi, seperti biasa:

TOUCHSTONE.
Dari seorang ksatria yang bersumpah demi kehormatannya bahwa pancake-nya enak dan mustardnya nggak. Saya saksinya, pancake-nya nggak enak dan mustardnya enak, dan si ksatria itu sumpahnya nggak sah.
CELIA.
Buktinya apa?
ROSALIND.
Iya, iya, coba buktiin.
TOUCHSTONE.
Nah sekarang kalian pegang dagu kalian, dan sumpah demi janggut kalian bahwa saya orangnya brengsek.
CELIA.
Sumpah demi janggut kami, seandainya kami punya.
TOUCHSTONE.
Demi kebrengsekan saya, seandainya saya emang brengsek, iya. Tapi kalo kalian sumpah demi sesuatu yang nggak ada, sumpahnya nggak sah, dong. Sama aja kaya ksatria ini, sumpah demi kehormatannya, padahal dia nggak terhormat, atau kalaupun dia dulu terhormat udah abis dipake sumpah kayanya kehormatannya.

Adegan di hutan, Rosalind, Celia dan Touchstone.

ROSALIND.
O Jupiter, how weary are my spirits!
TOUCHSTONE.
I care not for my spirits, if my legs were not weary.
ROSALIND.
I could find in my heart to disgrace my man's apparel,
and to cry like a woman; but I must comfort the weaker vessel, as
doublet and hose ought to show itself courageous to petticoat;
therefore, courage, good Aliena.
CELIA.
I pray you bear with me; I cannot go no further.
TOUCHSTONE.
For my part, I had rather bear with you than bear you;

Translasi:

ROSALIND.
Demi Jupiter, aku udah capek hati rasanya!
TOUCHSTONE.
Saya sih mending cape hati daripada cape kaki.
ROSALIND.
Aduh, kalo lagi ga pake baju cowok, aku udah pingin nangis-nangis ni rasanya kaya anak cewek. Tapi karena aku lagi pake baju cowok, harus bisa menghibur cewek, jadi, sabar ya, Aliena.
CELIA.
Tunggu aku bentar ya. Aku udah ga kuat jalan lagi.
TOUCHSTONE.
Buat saya sih mendingan nunggu kamu daripada nanggung kamu. Udah berat, ga ada untungnya lagi.

Adegan di hutan, Rosalind dan Celia:

ROSALIND.
Never talk to me; I will weep.
CELIA.
Do, I prithee; but yet have the grace to consider that tears
do not become a man.
ROSALIND.
But have I not cause to weep?
CELIA.
As good cause as one would desire; therefore weep.
ROSALIND.
His very hair is of the dissembling colour.
CELIA.
Something browner than Judas's.
Marry, his kisses are Judas's own children.
ROSALIND.
I' faith, his hair is of a good colour.
CELIA.
An excellent colour: your chestnut was ever the only colour.
ROSALIND.
And his kissing is as full of sanctity as the touch of
holy bread.
CELIA.
He hath bought a pair of cast lips of Diana. A nun of
winter's sisterhood kisses not more religiously; the very ice of
chastity is in them.
ROSALIND.
But why did he swear he would come this morning, and
comes not?
CELIA.
Nay, certainly, there is no truth in him.
ROSALIND.
Do you think so?
CELIA.
Yes; I think he is not a pick-purse nor a horse-stealer; but
for his verity in love, I do think him as concave as covered
goblet or a worm-eaten nut.
ROSALIND.
Not true in love?
CELIA.
Yes, when he is in; but I think he is not in.
ROSALIND.
You have heard him swear downright he was.
CELIA.
'Was' is not 'is';

Translasi:

ROSALIND.
Jangan ajak aku ngomong, aku mau nangis aja.
CELIA.
Sok aja, tapi cowok harusnya nggak nangis lho..
ROSALIND.
Tapi aku punya banyak alasan buat nangis.
CELIA.
Oh, banyak banget. Sok aja nangis.
ROSALIND.
Warna rambutnya merah kaya rambut Yudas[1].
CELIA.
Rambutnya sih agak lebih coklat daripada Yudas, tapi ciumannya kaya ciuman Yudas.
ROSALIND.
Tapi warna rambutnya emang bagus.
CELIA.
Bagus banget! Kamu taunya cuma warna coklat sih.
ROSALIND.
Dan ciumannya sama khidmatnya kaya roti persembahan.
CELIA.
Sama khidmatnya kaya ciuman Diana[2]. Suci, tapi sedingin es.
ROSALIND.
Tapi kenapa dia bilang bakal dateng pagi ini trus ga dateng?
CELIA.
Berarti tu orang tukang bohong.
ROSALIND.
Masa iya?
CELIA.
Iya; Yah, dia bukan maling sih, tapi kalo udah soal cinta, tu orang ga bener.
ROSALIND.
Ga bener soal cinta?
CELIA.
Kalo dia bener-bener cinta sih bener aja; tapi kayanya dia ga bener-bener cinta kamu.
ROSALIND.
Kan kamu kemarin denger dia sumpah dia cinta aku.
CELIA.
Kemarin kan bukan sekarang.

That's all. Bagian tersulit memang mencari kata-kata yang pelesetannya mendekati apa yang Shakespeare mau. Misalnya bagian “I care not for my spirits, if my legs were not weary”, “bear with you than bear you”, dan permainan kata 'true' di “when he is in; but I think he is not in”. Maaf kalau tidak memuaskan, I really did try my best.

Tunggu edisi Bad Translation berikutnya ya.. :D

[1] Ciuman Yudas: Yudas mengkhianati Yesus dengan cara menciumnya.

[2] Diana: Diana adalah dewi keperawanan. 

Cyrano de Bergerac: Maybe the Love is Not At All Unrequited

It's a pity I neither speak nor read French. Had I known the language better, had I the ability to read it in the language it's originally written, perhaps I could have enjoyed it better.

It doesn't mean that I didn't enjoy it – I did. But the play is still a play, and it's hard to translate a play no matter what language you want to translate it into. I'm just hoping I don't miss much.

Cyrano de Bergerac is a soldier, duelist, and poet. He's brave and skilled in words as well as in sword. He somewhat reminds me of D'Artagnan, with the same level of obstinacy and playfulness. He enters the stage dramatically, starting only as a voice that demands one actor to descend. His adventure doesn't end there. He then engages in a duel with Valvert, and wins the game while composing a ballad. Hmm, charming. But the great amazing thing is him fighting five scores of men to save his friend, Lignière.

But that's not the main plot. Cyrano is in love with his cousin, Roxane, a charming and beautiful lady. But he has a problem. Cyrano thinks that he is ugly, with an enormous nose on his face. He sure has the skill with words, but he doesn't feel confident with his looks.

“Look well at me--then tell me, with what hope This vile protuberance can inspire my heart! I do not lull me with illusions--yet At times I'm weak: in evening hours dim I enter some fair pleasance, perfumed sweet; With my poor ugly devil of a nose I scent spring's essence--in the silver rays I see some knight--a lady on his arm, And think 'To saunter thus 'neath the moonshine, I were fain to have my lady, too, beside!' Thought soars to ecstasy. . .O sudden fall! --The shadow of my profile on the wall!”

Meanwhile, Roxane confesses to him that she's in love with a handsome soldier, Christian. Christian is exactly Cyrano's opposite – good-looking but not a good speaker.

Instead of begrudging Roxane's love or challenging Christian in a duel, Cyrano chooses to join forces with him. Cyrano expresses his love in words to Roxane while making her believe that it's actually Christian.

“Roxane shall never have a disillusion! Say, wilt thou that we woo her, double-handed? Wilt thou that we two woo her, both together? Feel'st thou, passing from my leather doublet, Through thy laced doublet, all my soul inspiring?...Will you complete me, and let me complete you? You march victorious,--I go in your shadow; Let me be wit for you, be you my beauty!”

Well, Cyrano might be wrong. Perhaps it's not always the outward look that matters. Perhaps he's not that ugly at all. Perhaps Love is sometimes blind. And perhaps, his love is not at all unrequited. But perhaps, Fate uses the phrase “too late” too much.

I like the play, though I prefer to read it in its original language. I like the hero too. Cyrano reminds me of the Three Musketeers plus D'Artagnan. There are duels, battle, valour, honour, fun, and a lot of nice things in the play. Although the play is not a comedy, it's not dark as well.

Historical Facts and Background:

• Cyrano de Bergerac was a real person, though the love story is entirely fictional
• The play is set in 17th Century France, and the battle involved is a part of Thirty Years' War between France and Spain. 

Weekend Quote #26

O, how bitter a thing it is to look into happiness through another man's eyes!

Orlando's line in Shakespeare's comedy As You Like It might sound like full of envy at first, but actually it is not. Not really.

Orlando, seeing his brother so happy in his prospective marriage feels happy for him as well. But the happiness that his brother experience reminds him of his own love story. He loves a girl who knows nothing of his affection – or so he thinks.

I have no idea why I like this quote so much. It is one of those quotes that sticks to your head when you read it. It's difficult to be happy for someone else entirely, without comparing our own state to his/her.

That's my quote for the week. Want to share yours?

Classics Club January Meme: Best Book

What is the best book you’ve read so far for The Classics Club — and why? Be sure to link to the post where you discussed the book!

It will be Les Miserables. I'm so proud of myself that I actually finished the book and that I actually like it so much. Les Miserables is a good portrayal of people's living condition along with the ideas that they have in their minds. I love the way it is written as well. It feels like the book brings you here and there, through places and thoughts, sometimes abruptly and randomly but in time you start to see the connection between pieces.

Here's my analysis of the book, including volume-to-volume analysis.  

Les Miserables by Victor Hugo

Around the World in 80 Books Challenge

Did you read the word “challenge”? Yes. I join another daunting yet interesting challenge, hosted by Stacey from Have Books, Will Travel. The fun of it lies in the rules that we can arrange ourselves, since the rules from the host is a little bit too much for me personally (sorry Stacey).

Here's the rule:

• I start this journey at January 1^st 2013 and thus the challenge will end at December 31^st 2018.
• I will count a book to one country only. If there are two countries or more in the setting, I'll put it to the one not in my list yet.
• I will try to make a research on the countries. Since I read mostly classics I think it would be more interesting to research on the historical setting as well, not just the country as it is today.
• I will separate the country research and the book review for convenience. (Maybe I won't be able to do this for every country, but I will try to do so as often as I can, when I have the time to makes such research and posts.)

Haha. Huft. With Classic's Club Project not yet finished and around 5 more challenges in my sleeves I still don't know what I'm going to do with this challenge. Let's hope I can manage.

visited 9 states (4%)
Create your own visited map of The World or Brazil travel guide for Android

Barbados

• Sabatini, Rafael - Captain Blood

France:

• LeBlanc, Maurice –Eight Strokes of the Clock
• LeBlanc, Maurice –The Hollow Needle
• Rostand, Edmond –Cyrano de Bergerac

Greece:

• Euripides - The Trojan Women

India

• Burnett, F. H - A Little Princess

Italy

• Shakespeare, William - Othello

Malta

• Marlowe, Christopher - The Jew of Malta

Poland

• Calderon, Pedro - Life is a Dream

United Kingdom:

• Shakespeare - Richard III

United States:

• Fitzgerald, F. Scott - This Side of Paradise

LRP January Meme: Stage/Film Adaptation

All the world's a stage. - As You Like It, William Shakespeare

Freebie month, eh? For you guys who have had a tough time with Shakespeare, here's a grand relief. For those who have been in love with Shakespeare, you are free, I guess, to read more and more of him. Everyone's happy.

This month's theme is also quite as free. Plays are meant to be performed. There are hundreds of films out there which are based on plays. There are equally more stage performance of the plays, well-known or not. All we need to do is:

• Feature an adaptation you love the most
• Compare several adaptations that you have watched
• Make a review of the adaptation, commenting on the interpretation of the play
• Or anything else related to the play's stage/film adaptation

As usual, you may do one or several, and you are free to make more than one post in a month. Moreover, you may make this for each play that you read on January.

So, have fun and enjoy your reading (and watching)!