L-Intruża u L-Għomja / L’Intruse et Les Aveugles

L-Intruża' u 'L-Għomja / L’Intruse et Les Aveugles ta' Maurice Maeterlinck maqluba għall-Malti mill-Prof. Anthony Aquilina. Dawn huma żewġ drammi f’att wieħed, L-Intruża u L-Għomja, ta’ Maurice Maeterlinck (1862-1949), awtur Belġjan li kien jikteb bil-Franċiż, u li rebaħ il-Premju Nobel għal-Letteratura fl-1911.

Dawn il-ġojjelli fl-istorja tal-teatru Franċiż ta’ tmiem is-seklu dsatax jittrattaw il-kunflitt bejn il-bniedem u l-forzi sopranaturali li xejn ma jista’ jagħmel biex jegħlibhom, u jantiċipaw inkwantu għas-suġġett, jekk mhux fl-istil, “it-Teatru tal-Assurd”. Dan hu teatru inkwetanti li jirrifletti t-teorija drammatika tad-drammaturgu, kif insibuha elaborata f’”Le Tragique quotidien / It-traġiku fil-Ħajja ta’ Kuljum”, ġewwa l-ktieb bis-saġġi filosofiċi tiegħu, Le Trésor des humbles / It-Teżor tal-Umli (1896).

Il-misteru li Maeterlinck kien jiltaqa’ miegħu kullimkien madwaru u fil-bnedmin, huwa rnexxielu jinkarnah f’dawn iż-żewġ drammi. Biex nikkwota mill-istqarrija ta’ rikonoxximent waqt l-għoti tal-premju Nobel, il-kwalitajiet distintivi tad-drammi Simbolisti ta’ Maeterlinck kienu “ir-rikkezza ta’ immaġinazzjoni u r-realiżmu poetiku tagħhom”. Huma juru l-intimità tas-sentimenti profondi li kellu, u daqstant ieħor jappellaw għas-sentimenti u l-ansjetajiet tal-qarrej.

Flimkien mat-traduzzjonijiet wieħed isib ukoll studju qasir mill-Professur Aquilina fuq post Maeterlink fil-qafas tad-drama Simbolista fi Franza. Il-Professur Toni Aquilina huwa membru tad-Dipartiment tal-Istudji tat-Traduzzjoni, tat-Terminoloġija u tal-Interpretar fil-Fakultà tal-Arti tal-Università ta’ Malta.

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‍L-Intruża' u 'L-Għomja / L’Intruse et Les Aveugles by the Belgian Nobel Prize Winner Maurice Maeterlinck –  L’Intruse / L-Intruża and Les Aveugles / L-Għomja (1890) are two one-act symbolist dramas and were translated into Maltese by Professor Anthony (Toni) Aquilina. These gems in the history of French fin de siècle theatre concern man’s conflict with preternatural forces against which he is powerless, foreshadowing the subject-matter, if not the style, of the Theatre of the absurd. This is a disquieting theatre reflecting the playwright’s theory of drama, as developed in 'Le Tragique quotidien / It-Traġiku fil-Ħajja ta’ Kuljum / The Tragical in Daily Life', published in his book of philosophical essays, Le Trésor des humbles / It-Teżor tal-Umli /The Treasure of the Humble (1896). The mystery which Maeterlinck found everywhere around us and within us, he managed to embody it in these plays. To quote from the citation accompanying  the award of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1911, the distinctive quality of Maeterlinck’s symbolist drama was “their richness of imagination and poetic realism”. It displays a deep intimacy of feeling and also appeals to the readers’ sentiments and sense of foreboding.

Accompanying the translations one finds a short study by Professor Aquilina on Maeterlinck’s place within the framework of French Symbolist drama. Professor Toni Aquilina is a member of the Department of Translation, Terminology and Interpreting Studies within the Faculty of Arts at the University of Malta.

'L-Intruża' u  'L-Għomja” is number 18 of the Faraxa Translation Series and is in paperback format.

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