Personally I admire how Derzhavin could delve into the depths, soar into the heights, relax in such simplicity (as in this piece), and poke around in playful pieces. The average English speaker can't really see this diversity of the poet and his work when so many of his pieces are mostly "unchartered territory" in terms of being translated into English.
Quote:
|
If I'm unlikely to find another translation, that doesn't automatically make it a hidden gem.
|
One translation at least means it is no longer as "hidden" as it used to be, gem or not. If you don't know something exists, you don't even get the chance to see if you think it is a gem or not.
But a poem doesn't need to be a gem to be a good poem. Sometimes just a sparkle in the eye or a smile is good enough. Sometimes not. "Different strokes for different folks". The diversity of expectations and subjective reactions pretty much rules out any objective reality to a proclamation of "good" or "bad".
.