How to Write A Homophonic Translation Poem

A homophonic translation will boost your creativity while letting you have fun.

A homophonic translation is a type of poem that is inspired by another poem not in the author's native language. Writing this type of poem is a great exercise for poets and writers alike. It helps the writer focus on sound and lyrical patters, and think creatively.

Things You'll Need

• Poem in another language

Instructions

1. Choose a poem written in a foreign language. If you have a favorite poem that is an English translation, find the original version of that poem. Make sure the poem is written in a language that you can pronounce, although you need not understand the original text. It may be easier to stick to poems written in European languages, such as French or Spanish.

2. Read the poem aloud to yourself. Look for areas where you notice a rhyme and note these areas on the original poem.

3. Use the sounds of the words you are reading and convert them into English words. For example, consider the first two lines of Charles Baudelaire's "Les Phares":

   "Rubens, fleuve d'oubli, jardin de la paresse,

   Oreiller de chair fraîche où l'on ne peut aimer"

   These words can be homophonically translated to this:

   Rubbing, flowers, Dublin, garden, passé

   Olive, choir, first, onion, aiming

   Do not force yourself to come up with a translation for each word. If two or more foreign words sound like one English word, then go with it. In the previous example that is done when "où l'on" becomes "onion."

   You'll notice that the rhyming areas you marked off earlier will cause your words to also have a rhythm and rhyme.

4. Use connecting words to bring your poem together and help it tell a story. Do not shift the focus from your translated words, let them be the main subjects of your poem. Add connecting words as necessary to illustrate a point.

   In the example from Step 3, the translated words can be tied together like this:

   Rubbing flowers from Dublin on the garden of my body is passé.

   Olived and choired first the skin sings.

5. Revise your poem after you have let it sit alone for a period of time. Cut areas that are redundant.

Tips & Warnings

• Remember that this is an exercise in sounds. Do not get caught up in the meaning or message of the poem. If you learn new tricks with sounds and wordplay, and combine phrases you never would have otherwise, then this was a successful exercise.

• This is a stress-free exercise. If you are stumped on any particular word, skip it and move on.

References

• University of Pennsylvania: Wreading Experiments
• Fleurs du Mal: Les Phares (The Beacons)