Phrase “The Last Ark” by Aldaleon

       ⸱              ⸱   ⸱      ⸱     ⸱           ⸱      ⸱   ⸱     ⸱   ⸱            ⸱   ⸱   ⸱                  ⸱             

Men cenuva fánë cirya métima hrestallo círa, i fairi nécë ringa súmaryassë ve maiwi yaimië? Man tiruva fána cirya, wilwarin wilwa, ëar-celumessen rámainen elvië ëar falastala, winga hlápula rámar sisílala, cálë fifírula? Man hlaruva rávëa súrë ve tauri lillassië, ninqui carcar yarra isilmë ilcalassë, isilmë pícalassë, isilmë lantalassë ve loicolícuma; raumo nurrua, undumë rúma? Man cenuva lumbor ahosta Menel acúna ruxal' ambonnar, ëar amortala, undumë hácala, enwina lúmë elenillor pella talta-taltala atalantië mindonnar? Man tiruva rácina cirya ondolissë mornë nu fanyarë rúcina, anar púrëa tihta axor ilcalannar métim' auressë? Man cenuva métim' andúnë?

A beautiful poem in Quenya that appears in the Monsters and the Critics.

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Anya Sennairiel #1441

Greetings!

Since the first time I crashed into this beautiful poem I was amazed. It just seemed to me fairer than mortal tongue can tell. Now I'm attempting to translate it into Chinese, my mother language. However, I have two questions:

1.What does "her" refer to in the sentence "in her cold bosom"? Does it represent the sea?

2.(The most important)Is the topic of this poem known? Is it about the Elves leaving Middle-earth? (Only a guess, not sure whether it is reasonable)

These confusions hindered me from understanding the poem integrally. Looking forward to hearing your ideas. Thanks!

Caldar Laicollo #2741

I know this is a really late reply, and I'm not an expert at all, but my interpretation of the poem is that (if it relates to Middle-earth at all)

  1. "her" refers to the boat that is sailing away from shore and the next line may refer to the foam that it is leaving in "her" wake

  2. I think it is reasonable to assume it's about elves sailing, as it talks about white ships, and has a general air of something good leaving the earth as well as a haunting feeling (nature itself seems to mourn the loss of whoever sailed away) Of course it could also be a poem that doesn't relate to Middle-earth, but either way, it's really beautiful, and I'd love to see your translation in Chinese if you've worked on it!

Gwilithiel #2742

Sorry for the very late reply, I just saw this.

Chinese, my mother language

If you speak Chinese, I’d be happy to reply in Mandarin; I presume that that would be easier for you.

What does "her" refer to in the sentence "in her cold bosom"? Does it represent the sea?

“her” 其实代表诗里形容的那艘白船。在英语里，用“她”（she/her）来形容船是件很普片的事。

(The most important)Is the topic of this poem known? Is it about the Elves leaving Middle-earth? (Only a guess, not sure whether it is reasonable)

你可以这么认为，但是这首诗也不一定是关于精灵的。我觉得它的意义更多就是为了代表在黑暗或是艰难的事情之中找到光荣，道路，像在英文里的一个说法：“light at the end of the tunnel”。我认为白船在一个比较黑暗的世界里，代表着艰难中的光和美。诗想要解释的就是在苦痛的情况中很难找到答案，道路，而人们应该争取去找到它。你可以有不同的想法，但这是我想出的意义。