ALENCAR

O Guarani 3.39 · 3.39

A temple of green

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Apezar de ser pouco mais de duas horas, uma tenue claridade reinava nessas profundas e sombrias abobadas de verdura: a luz, coando entre a espessa folhagem se decompunha inteiramente; nem uma restea de sol penetrava nesse templo da creação, ao qual servião de columnas os troncos seculares dos acaris e dos araribás.

Though it was little past two o'clock, only a faint light reigned under those deep, shadowy vaults of green: the daylight, filtering through the thick foliage, was wholly broken up; not a single ray of sun pierced that temple of creation, whose columns were the age-old trunks of the acari and araribá trees.

Word by word

Apezara-pe-ZARAlthoughdedeof / fromserserit waspoucoPOH-koolittlemaismaishmorededethanduasDOO-ashtwohorasO-rasho'clock,umaOO-maatenueTE-noo-efaintclaridadekla-ree-DA-delightreinavahay-NA-vareignednessasNE-sashin thoseprofundaspro-FOON-dashdeepeeeandsombriasson-BREE-ashshadowyabobadasa-BO-ba-dashvaultsdedeofverduraver-DOO-ragreen:aatheluzlooshlight,coandoko-AN-doofilteringentreEN-trethroughaatheespessaesh-PE-sathickfolhagemfo-LYA-zhenfoliageseseitselfdecompunhade-kon-POO-nyabroke apartinteiramenteeen-tay-ra-MEN-cheentirely;nemnennotumaOO-maaresteahesh-TEE-araydedeofsolsolsunpenetravape-ne-TRA-vapiercednesseNE-seinto thattemploTEN-plootempledadaofcreaçãokre-a-SOWNcreation,aoowto whichqualkwalwhichserviãoser-VEE-owNserveddedeascolumnasko-LOON-nashcolumnsosooshthetroncosTRON-kooshtrunkssecularesse-koo-LA-reshage-olddosdooshof theacarisa-ka-REESHacari treeseeeanddosdooshof theararibása-ra-ree-BASHararibá trees.

The setting

Though it was little past two o'clock, only a faint light reigned under those deep, shadowy vaults of green: the daylight, filtering through the thick foliage, was wholly broken up; not a single ray of sun pierced that temple of creation, whose columns were the age-old trunks of the acari and araribá trees.

A note on this passage

Alencar's forest is a cathedral — vaults, columns, a hushed dimness ‘of creation.' The acari and araribá are Brazilian hardwoods; naming them roots the sacred image in a real, native forest. This is the Indianist landscape the novel is famous for, entered just as the human tension goes quiet.

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