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Once in a lifetime the longed-for tidal wave of justice can rise up, and hope and history rhyme.

Seamus Heaney, The Cure at Troy

LiteratureHistory

Why it matters

The idea in context

Heaney wrote this chorus for his version of a Sophocles play, staged in 1990 while Northern Ireland was still at war with itself. The lines directly before it are the ones people forget: 'History says, don't hope on this side of the grave.' The famous half only means anything because of that refusal. Politicians have quoted it ever since, usually the hopeful part, and Heaney was wary of how easily it was borrowed.

Türkçe

Aynı kart, başka bir dilde.

Ömürde bir kez, uzun zamandır beklenen adalet dalgası kabarabilir; umutla tarih o zaman aynı kafiyeye düşer.
Seamus Heaney, Truva'da Şifa

Heaney bu koro bölümünü, 1990'da sahnelenen Sophokles uyarlaması için yazdı; Kuzey İrlanda hâlâ kendi içinde savaş hâlindeydi. İnsanların unuttuğu asıl dizeler hemen öncesindekiler: 'Tarih der ki, mezarın bu yakasında umut etme.' Ünlü yarının anlamı, ancak bu reddedişin yanında doğuyor. Siyasetçiler o günden beri hep umutlu kısmı alıntılıyor; Heaney ise dizelerinin bu kolay ödünç alınışından hep rahatsızdı.

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Background reading: Seamus HeaneyAttribution and context are revised when stronger evidence appears. Corrections are welcome through the editorial page.
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