Writing a poetic translation: translating dialect

Image credit Leeds University Library

This page of notes continues Armitage's defence of, or explanation for, various elements of Gawain.

The dialect words in the centre of the page – “bide”, “laike”, “childer”, “barlow” and “samen” amongst others – show Armitage listing words from Gawain that were familiar to him as Yorkshire dialect, which possibly helped him to identify with the Gawain poet.

Armitage uses dialect terms throughout his translation. Some are a direct crossover from the original, and some have made their way into other sections of the poem.

For example: “every hill wore a hate of mizzle on its head” (l. 2081). Mizzle is derived from the Middle English word “misy” (swamp or bog) and is still current in parts of the UK in the form of “mizzle” (drizzling rain).