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I sing the body electric

English translation: In awe/wonder of the Body

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
English term or phrase:I sing the body electric
Selected answer:In awe/wonder of the Body
Entered by: Johan Venter

11:24 Oct 10, 2005
English language (monolingual) [PRO]
Art/Literary - Music
English term or phrase: I sing the body electric
I SING the Body electric;. The armies of those I love engirth me, and I engirth
them
(Walt Whitman)

TIA

Tsogt
Tsogt Gombosuren
Canada
Local time: 07:25
Wonder of the human body
Explanation:
In "I Sing the Body Electric" Whitman records his delight--and delight is too weak a term--at the wondrous qualities of the human body. "If any thing is sacred the human body is sacred" (section 8), he writes, "And if the body were not the soul, what is the soul?" (section 1). The reader encounters in "Body Electric" Whitman's profound love of bodily flesh. Always a central element in Whitman's ecstatic imagination, the body is here both ostensible and central subject of the poem.
Selected response from:

Johan Venter
Czech Republic
Local time: 15:25
Grading comment
Thank you!
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



SUMMARY OF ALL EXPLANATIONS PROVIDED
3 +10Wonder of the human body
Johan Venter
4I embrace the humanity around me
zaphod
5 -2The title of a "Weather Report" album
Mårten Sandberg
3Attempt to explain
Richard Benham


Discussion entries: 2





  

Answers


28 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
I embrace the humanity around me


Explanation:
and am one with it

zaphod
Local time: 15:25
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in FrenchFrench

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Mårten Sandberg: You miss the "music" part
2 hrs
  -> This isn't song from "Fame"
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39 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +10
i sing the body electric
Wonder of the human body


Explanation:
In "I Sing the Body Electric" Whitman records his delight--and delight is too weak a term--at the wondrous qualities of the human body. "If any thing is sacred the human body is sacred" (section 8), he writes, "And if the body were not the soul, what is the soul?" (section 1). The reader encounters in "Body Electric" Whitman's profound love of bodily flesh. Always a central element in Whitman's ecstatic imagination, the body is here both ostensible and central subject of the poem.


    Reference: http://www.whitmanarchive.org/archivephp/criticism/criticism...
Johan Venter
Czech Republic
Local time: 15:25
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 4
Grading comment
Thank you!

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Cristina Hritcu (X)
25 mins
  -> Thanks
agree  Alfredo Tutino: and, in his time and place, electricity was new, exciting, cutting-edge, full of promise...vague but powerful parallels between the energy of the body and the energies of nature...
1 hr
  -> Thanks
agree  Java Cafe
2 hrs
  -> Thanks
neutral  Mårten Sandberg: You miss the "music" part
2 hrs
  -> Have a look at the link I provided
agree  Nick Lingris: sing = praise somebody or proclaim something, especially in verse. So nobody misses the "singing" part :-)
3 hrs
  -> Thanks
agree  Alfa Trans (X)
3 hrs
  -> Thanks
agree  Dave Calderhead: Agree with Nick, too. Nice refernce.
4 hrs
  -> Thanks
agree  Bianca Jacobsohn
7 hrs
  -> Thanks
agree  Saiwai Translation Services
11 hrs
  -> Thanks
agree  Deborah Workman: Yes, and agree with Nick. "Sing" carries overtones of sacred praise and worship (see the Psalms, any hymnal).
1 day 11 hrs
  -> Thanks
agree  Saleh Chowdhury, Ph.D.
2 days 4 hrs
  -> Thanks
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3 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): -2
i sing the body electric
The title of a "Weather Report" album


Explanation:
remember Weather Report? those pioneers in the 70's mixing jazz, fusion, rock n roll. Joe Zawinul and Cannonball Adderley were the front figures if I am not mistaken.
It is a milestone album of this genre. Go buy it!


    Reference: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00000273B/103...
Mårten Sandberg
Local time: 15:25
Native speaker of: Swedish

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Can Altinbay: Well, yes, it is, but as you can see from the question, it was not invented by Weather Report. Why would this answer be helpful in explaining a Whitman quote?//You have a point.
1 hr
  -> I know WW invented it, but I am not sure that the question refers to WW . I was lead to believe this since it says music in the category. But it sure would be useful with an asker note on the topic :)
disagree  Dave Calderhead: Asker specifically quotes more than the album title from the poem, and does refer to Whitman rather than Weather Report// See Nick's agreement note to Venter's answer
2 hrs
  -> Sure, I can't get that part to fit in really, just like I can't figure out where the music is in a pure WW context. Admit that the asker would have to add info on as to where the problem lies specifically.
disagree  Bianca Jacobsohn: Agree with Dave. I guess we now know that it was the inspiration of a 70's band :O)
4 hrs
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12 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
i sing the body electric
Attempt to explain


Explanation:
Hello TG. I am still not sure what your problem is. All the words in the sentence are well-known.

There is a fairly typical poetical inversion of adjective and noun in "body electric". It suggests that the term "electric" is being used in a metaphorical sense, which is not news since it makes no sense at all if interpreted literally.

I think your problem stems from the weird collocations: how can you "sing the body" and how can it be "electric"?

I believe that answering these questions *does* take us into the field of literary criticism or exegesis, despite your protestations. But here are a couple of suggestions.

"Sing" can mean "celebrate". "Electric" can mean "exciting" or "energetic" or quite a few other things along these lines. Of course, whether or not these words are being used metaphorically in this poem, they still carry their normal connotations. So I think it is a good idea, in translation, to try to find metaphors that have similar connotations.

I hope this has been helpful.


--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 13 hrs 31 mins (2005-10-11 00:55:56 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Hello. As Nick Lingris points out in his comments on venter's answer, "sing" often suggests celebrating (praising, whatever) something in *verse*. It is a usage that goes back a long way, probably because, at some stage in the past, poetry was always sung or chanted or whatever.

Richard Benham
France
Local time: 15:25
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
Notes to answerer
Asker: Cheers mate!

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