Translating Poetry

Extract

To take a piece of simple narrative prose and render everything in it in another language, not only the words but the implications in them and in their order, is a difficult thing. To do the same thing for a piece of verse, when metre and perhaps rhyme have to be taken into account, is still more difficult; and if the verse has attained to that subtle dignity and magic which enables us to call it real poetry, the difficulties are again increased.