'Leda Deflowered', Pierre de Ronsard. A contrapuntal translation by Sam Trainor.
Résumé
A "contrapuntal translation" of Ronsard’s ode "La défloration de Lède" (published in 1550), which was the first extended depiction of the rape of Leda by the swan in the poetic canon. An extended endnote discusses the problematic theme and several of its most famous treatments, concluding with an explanation of "contrapuntal translation": "A ‘contrapuntal’ translation is not necessarily antagonistic to its source. Its defining attribute is a playful polyphony: the attempt to create syncopations of rhythm and reference in a simultaneous performance. However, a critical function is an obvious avenue of expansion. This version has one eye on its own unacceptability. It is itself a non-consensual generative encounter. It forces itself, and its contemporary sensibilities, on an ‘original’ (if that word has any meaning in this context… I prefer the term ‘baseline/bass-line’) whose subject matter, despite a subtle satire of the glorification of sexual coercion, still undeniably seeks to entertain us with a decorative take on the rape of a young girl."