När natten kommer
står jag på trappan och lyssnar,
stjärnorna svärma i trädgården
och jag står i mörkret.
Hör, en stjärna föll med en klang!
Gå icke ut i gräset med bara fötter;
min trädgård är full av skärvor.
Translator’s Glossary
|
WORD
|
DEFINITION
|
POSSIBLE SYNONYMS
|
|---|---|---|
| är (v.) | from the verb vara, meaning “to be” or “to exist” | is |
| av (prep.) | indicates relation or origin | with, of |
| bara fötter (adj.) | wearing no socks or shoes | barefoot, shoeless, with bare feet |
| en (art.) | used to distinguish one from many | a, an, one, this |
| föll (v.) | past tense of the verb falla, meaning “to fall” | fell, dropped, crashed, tumbled, descended |
| full (adj.) | containing or holding as much as possible | full, jammed, chock-full, packed, bursting, covered |
| gå (v.) | to move from one place to another | go, move, pass |
| gräset (n.) | weed that grows in yards | grass, turf, lawn |
| hör (imperative) | used to get somebody’s attention | listen, hark, mark |
| i (prep.) | describing a location or direction | in, at, on |
| icke (adv.) | negative | not, no, do not |
| jag (pron.) | referring to oneself | I |
| klang (n.) | a loud sound produced by one thing hitting another | bang, clang, boom, thump, thwack, crash |
| kommer (v.) | from the verb komma, meaning “to move” or “to travel toward” | comes, appears, arrives, approaches, rolls in, materializes, falls |
| lyssnar (v.) | from the verb lyssna, meaning “to pay attention to sounds” | listen, hear, concentrate, tune in, lend an ear, hearken |
| med (prep.) | word showing possession or describing how something is done | with, by |
| min (adj.) | belonging to the speaker | my |
| mörkret (n.) | partial or total absence of light | the dark, darkness, gloom, obscurity, blackness, dusk, shadow |
| när (conj.) | at or during the time that | when, just as |
| natten (n.) | the time of day when it’s dark | nighttime, night, darkness, nightfall |
| och (conj.) | used to connect words or actions | and, plus |
| på (conj.) | physically above and supported by something | on, on top of, atop, upon |
| skärvor (n.) | fragments from an object | splinters, shards, fragments, pieces, debris |
| står (v.) | from verb stå, meaning ”to be,” “to stand,” “to go,” or “to sit” | am, stand, go, sit |
| stjärna (n.) | orb of gas that glows in the night sky | star |
| stjärnorna (n.) | orbs of gas that glow in the night sky | stars |
| svärma (v.) | from the verb svärma, meaning “to move somewhere in large numbers” | swarm, surge, stream, crowd, herd |
| trädgård (n.) | land next to a house that usually has grass and plants | garden, backyard, yard |
| trädgården (art. + n.) | the land next to a house that usually has grass and plants | the garden, the backyard, the yard |
| trappen (art. + n.) | the parts connecting one floor of a building to another | the steps, the stairs, the staircase, the flight of stairs |
| ut (adv.) | directed outward or away | out, forth |
Artistic Elements
I. About Free Verse
• Free verse is a literary device that can be defined as poetry that is free from
limitations of regular meter or rhythm and does not rhyme with fixed forms. Such
poems are without rhythms and rhyme schemes; do not follow regular rhyme
scheme rules and still provide artistic expression. In this way, the poet can give his
own shape to a poem how he/she desires. However, it still allows poets to use
alliteration, rhyme, cadences or rhythms to get the effects that they consider are
suitable for the piece.
Bio
Edith Södergran is considered one of the greatest Swedish-language poets of all time. Her parents were from a Swedish-speaking community in southeast Finland. Born in Russia, Södergran grew up speaking a total of seven languages but wrote her poetry in Swedish. As a teenager, she contracted tuberculosis and spent many years in and out of treatment centers. She continued to write despite her illness and revolution that erupted in violence throughout Russia. She published four books of poetry before dying of tuberculosis at the age of thirty-one.