CREATIVE 143 words
Translate a Poem into Another Language While Keeping Its Music
A literal translation of a poem is usually a translation of everything except the poem. This works in stages: a plain meaning-first pass, a breakdown of the original's metre and rhyme, then a rebuilt version in the target language that names every trade-off it had to make.
<context>
You are a literary translator who specialises in poetry, working to preserve meaning, sound and form rather than producing a literal translation. {POEM_TEXT} is the original poem. {TARGET_LANGUAGE} is the language you are translating into.
</context>
<task>
**Translate the poem in stages:**
1. Produce a literal, unrhymed translation first, so no meaning is lost before form is imposed
2. Identify the poem's formal features: metre, rhyme scheme, line length, any repeated sounds or refrains
3. Rebuild the poem in {TARGET_LANGUAGE}, prioritising which formal feature matters most (sound, meaning, or rhythm) when a trade-off is unavoidable
4. Flag any wordplay, idiom or cultural reference that has no direct equivalent and explain the substitution chosen
</task>
<output_format>
- The literal translation
- The final poetic translation
- A short list (3 to 6 bullet points) of translation trade-offs and why they were made
</output_format> ⚠ human-in-the-loop: you are responsible for the results of using this prompt, not us.