Ausiàs March. Some poems translated into English

Ausiàs March

Ausiàs March is presumed to have been born in Gandia in 1397; he died in Valencia in 1459. His life was that of a knight, and he took place in military expeditions in Italy under Alphonso the Great (Alfons el Magnànim) between 1420 and 1425. He retired from military life at the age of 27, which made it possible for him to devote himself on poetry. He's regarded as the leading figure in the Catalan lyrical poetry in the Middle Ages. He was the first poet whose work can be said essentially Catalan. He not only decisively contributed to detach the Catalan literature from the late Provençal influence, but his poetry did renovate the literary milieu and influenced other literatures. He wrote 128 poems, published at Barcelona in1543.

According to Carbonell et al. (Literatura catalana: dels inicis als nostres dies. Barcelona, Edhasa, 1981, p. 157), what essentially distinguishes March both from the Provençal troubadours and from the Italian poets is his attitude towards women. The troubadours' lady is celebrated regarding her high social hierarchy, and by doing that, the poet is expressing the feudal vassalage in an amorous way. The Italian poets, for their part, increasingly tended to sublimate their lady —for Dante, Beatrice will be the Theology that will lead him to God, and for Petrarch, Laura will have the highest spirituality. In this upward path it was impossible to get higher —and Ausiàs March did not intend it. What March did (and either the Provençal troubadours or the Italian poets did not) was to regard the lady simply as a woman —with her virtues and defects, being resolute or feeble, a person liable to fall and also to make the poet fall.

All the poems transcribed here come from an anthology of March's poems selected and adapted to modern Catalan by Joan Fuster, and published by Tres i Quatre in 1984 (ISBN 84-7502-113-1).

Raimon has beautifully sung several poems by March. I would love to have Raimon's Veles e vents in some audio format so I could put it here for the world's to listen to and admire. If someone visiting this page could provide me with that recording I'd be extremely grateful to her or him. The excellent (but unfortunately uncredited) English translations I've used here come from the printed lyrics in the CD. Also, having some of the thrilling recitations of March's poems made by Ovidi Montllor would be terrific!

If you're interesed in the Catalan language, the Catalan Foundation Paulí Bellet has published an online "Catalan Grammar in Brief", along with exercises and several dialogs. They also provide links to another Catalan-learning sites in the web.

Please accept this suggestion regarding the poems: read them aloud, in the original version of course, pronouncing each word carefully, and you'll be surprised of the rich and beautiful sonority every verse has. Don't try to understand every word. Stick to the strophes you like most and then go to the other ones. Give you some time to get used to the language and topics. Be aware with the word delit, used in abundance by March: don't get it for what it's not —it means delight, pleasure, joy. Also, take care to pronounce cell with the sound of thek letter, insofar it's the equivalent of aquell.

• Like the bull which takes flight into the wilderness

• Sails and winds shall my desires achieve

• The world cannot show less pity

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