Jak mówić o Gorzkich żalach w języku angielskim?

The essay “How can we speak in English about Gorzkie żale?” arose from an attempt to discuss the conversations of the soul with the Sorrowful Mother of God from this Polish baroque Passion devotion, at an English-language conference on the theme of the dramatised word. Some parts of the devotion are compared with a translation into English made for the Diocese of Michigan in 1986, not in order to criticise the translators’ work, but in order to expose some of the outstanding qualities of the Polish text, which is both a devotional and an artistic masterpiece. The simplicity and concreteness of its language and imagery emerge clearly by comparison with the translation, which often resorts to Latinate vocabulary and conventionally religiose expression, remote from everyday experience and not demanding the spiritual and imaginative engagement that is required by the original. The comparison also draws attention to an extremely important aspect of the devotion: its remaining throughout in the darkness of Good Friday, lightened only by love. The essay concludes that while it might be possible to make a translation which retains more of the qualities of language of the original text, it would be extremely difficult to do this in such a way as to accommodate the traditional melody, which is an essential element of the devotion.