On 28 April 1967, J.R.R. Tolkien wrote a letter to John Leyerle.[1]
- Subject: Reply to Leyerle's letter, delivered to Tolkien by hand from William Ready sometime between 21 and 28 April: at present, Tolkien has given up translating The Owl and the Nightingale, and his translations of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and Pearl will soon be published by Allen & Unwin. However, he may be able to submit a "reasonably successful translation of Sir Orfeo", made some years ago, to Leyerle's anthology.
- Publication: A description of the letter was published in The J.R.R. Tolkien Companion and Guide: Chronology (p. 697).
- Archive: Tolkien Papers, Bodleian Library, Oxford.[2]
Excerpt
"I have at present given up the task [of translating The Owl and the Nightingale] It comes off well enough in certain passages, but in general octo-syllabic couplets are defeating for a translator; there is no room to move".[2]
References
- ↑ Christina Scull and Wayne G. Hammond, “chapter=I. Chronology,” in The J.R.R. Tolkien Companion and Guide (2006), p. 697
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Christina Scull and Wayne G. Hammond, “II. Reader's Guide,” in The J.R.R. Tolkien Companion and Guide (2006), p. 771