Re-Visions: New Voices—New Perspectives on Dickinson's Poetry—Rescuing "After great pain" for the Portuguese Language Reader

How can we live up to the demanding title of "New Perspectives"? In 1967 Lubbers concluded the "Preface" to his Emily Dickinson: The Critical Revolution with the following statement, which could be taken as an apt answer to this question:

The "total meaning" of a work of art, according to a well-known formulation, is "the history of its criticism by its many readers in many ages." Two years before this truth was stated, Henry W. Wells, in his Introduction to Emily Dickinson, has gained much the same insight: "To record what thousands of readers have experienced becomes realistic and significant, while to insist too narrowly upon one's own interpretation appears less original and creative than arrogant and egotistical."

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Thus, the present interpretation of P341 takes into account the available icism of this poem in order to explore its ironical aspect in the light of this translation, in which was attempted to preserve the characteristics and effects of the original.

Depois de grande dor, vem um sentimento formal—	4/4/3	After great pain, a formal feeling comes—
Os Nervos sentam—se cerimoniosos, como Túmulos—	0/8/2	The Nerves sit ceremonious, like Tombs—
O Coração rijo pergunta se foi Ele, que padeceu,	1/5/3	The stiff Heart questions was it He, that bore,
E se Ontem, ou Séculos atrás?	0/3/1	And Yesterday, or Centuries before?
Os Pés, mecânicos, giram—	0/2/1	The Feet, mechanical go round—
Ao redor do Chão, ou do Ar, ou de Nada—	5/7/3	Of Ground, or Air or Ought—
Num Caminho de Madeira	2/1/1	A Wooden way
Aberto ao acaso,	0/3/1	Regardless grown,
Um contentamento de Quartzo, como pedra—	2/5/2	A Quartz contentment, like a stone—
Esta é a Hora do Chumbo—	1/3/1	This is the Hour of Lead—
Lembrada, se sobrevivida,	2/1/2	Remembered, if outlived,
Como pessoas Congeladas se lembram da Neve	2/4/1	As Freezing persons, recollect the Snow—
Primeiro—Calafrio—depois Estupor—depois o deixar—se ir—	3/6/6	First—Chill—then Stupor—then the letting go—

Considering that Dickinson associates "Death" with "Beauty" in her best poems, a connection can be made between "After great pain" and "I died for Beauty" (P449), which is probably the most translated of Dickinson's poems. In "I died for Beauty" the poet gradually creates expectations. At the beginning she gives the impression that she is going to talk about the transcendence of beauty and truth, but at the end she frustrates such an expectation.

The initial promise of exalting beauty and truth as transcendental forms does not become true, for the two last lines reverse the expectation, leading the poem to conclude with the idea of annihilation. And this idea reappears beautifully in "After great pain." Here the truth of death is presented in a highly artistic way, which poses a challenge for the translator.

In many of Dickinson's poems, irony is a philosophical or aesthetic aspect which puts them in a metaphysical context. As a feeling before the universe or a way of seeing the world, metaphysical irony allows the human mind to grasp paradox and chaos. Irony can be derived from the perception of the contradictory or dramatic meaning of existence, from tragic pain, from the feeling of the absurd, from the enigmas which surround everything that happens to human beings, as well as from the mysterious aspects of human nature.

In this context, "After great pain" is one of the best finished poems by Dickinson. Its translation into Portuguese hereby presented is an attempt at rescuing its meaning for the Portuguese language reader.

In the attempt to preserve the effect of the original, some of the poem's formal characteristics were also maintained: number of stanzas, number of lines within each stanza, free and blank verses, capital initials, dashes, and punctuation (including the comma after "He" in the third line, which is not endorsed by Portuguese grammar). Total literality...