skal eg sanke,
mange, mange,
dei skal hange
kvar av hennar
adels-mennar
glimande i oyra.

[36. William Shakespeare--_Jonsok Draumen_--Eit Gamenspel. Paa
Norsk ved Erik Eggen. Oslo, 1912.]

Now, admitting that

eg dogge maa
dei grone straa
som vaar dronning dansar paa.

is a better translation than in the _Syn og Segn_ text--which is
doubtful enough--it is difficult to see what can be the excuse for such
pompous banality as

Kvart nykelband
er adelsmann,
med ordenar dei glime kann;

the first version is not above reproach in this respect. It might
fairly be asked: where does Eggen get his authority for

sjaa dei stjernur alvar gav deim!

But the lines are not loaded down with imagery which is both misleading
and in bad taste. Eggen should have left his first version unchanged.
Such uninspired prose as:

kvar blank rubin,
paa bringa skin,
utsender ange fin.

have to the ears of most Norwegians the atmosphere of the back stairs.
Better the unadorned version of 1903.

In the passage following, Robin's reply, the revised version is probably
better than the first, though there seems to be little to choose between
them. But in the fairy's next speech the translator has gone quite
beyond his legitimate province, and has improved Shakespeare by a
picture from Norwegian folklore. Following the lines of the original:

Misleade nightwanderers, laughing at their harm,

Eggen has added this homelike conception in his translation:

som og kann draga for til hest og naut,
naar berre du kvar torsdag faer din graut.

Shakespeare in Elysium must have regretted that he was not born in the
mountains of Norway!

And when Robin, in the speech that follows, tells of his antics, one
wonders just a little what has been gained by the revision. The same
query is constantly suggested to anyone who compares the two texts.

Nor do I think that the lyrics have gained by the revision. Just a
single comparison--the lullaby in the two versions. We have given it
above as published in _Syn og Segn_. The following is its revised form:

_Fyrste alven_:
Spettut orm, bustyvel kvass,
eiter-odle, sleve graa,
fare burt fraa denne plass,
so vaar dronning sova maa!

_Alle_:
Maaltrost, syng med oss i lund
dronningi i saelan blund:
Byssam, byssam barne,
gryta heng i jarne.
Troll og nykk,
gakk burt med dykk
d