Let it Go from Disneyâ€™s Frozen

Today (23rd December) is Saturnaaaaaliaaaa! And this year’s Saturnalia song is appropriately cold-themed.Â Read on forÂ a demonstration of the imaginative power of Latin (I hope) and the continued relevance of Classics, and something like a love letter to history. felicia Saturnalia, everyone

Edit March ’14:Â I’ve been stunned by the response to this song! Thank you so much to everyone who has watched and commented! This translation is very dear to me so I’m so pleased that you like it.

This is LONG, because this song has become iconic. Elsa is one of Disney’s most complex heroines, and and accordingly, her theme song was very difficult to translate. Idina Menzel (voice of Elsa) described it as â€˜bigger than the characterâ€™, which is true, but it is difficult to do that in Latin without sounding trite. And while English is good at obscuring stylistic inconsistencies (â€˜my soul is spiralling in frozen fractals all aroundâ€™ is very poetic, while â€˜the cold never bothered me anywayâ€™ is colloquial and flippant), Latin is not: whether theyâ€™re reproduced or standardised, it doesnâ€™t have the same effect. In this song I chose to standardise them. One result is that the words are more specific to Elsa, and can’t be made into slogans so easily. In short, the song is veryâ€¦ Latin. It has a (hopefully) consistent style, a consistent tone, and a consistent Roman context.

On that note, my third thought when I heard this for the first time (after â€˜this is amazingâ€™ and â€˜how will I sing this?!â€™) was, â€˜This reminds me of Tiberius.â€™ This may be because I am obsessed with Tiberius to the point that I know his favourite fruit, and my friends call him â€˜Him Who Must Not Be Namedâ€™. So, although my instinct was to use Tiberius as a Roman model for the song, initially I tried to talk myself out of it. However, the more I thought about it, the more it seemed like a genuinely good idea. The parallels are numerous, and if Iâ€™m prone to get a little emotional about the subjectâ€¦ well, the song is called â€˜let it goâ€™!

The emperor Tiberius possessed that unfortunate combination of profound insecurity and a superiority complex. A soldier by trade and temperament, he disliked being emperor, and wanted the senate to regulate itself as it did under the Republic. The senators, however, petrified of civil war, preferred a single arbitrator whose favour they might court through sycophancy and backstabbing. None of this worked on Tiberius, who was austere, modest and socially awkward. He tried to hide his increasing disdain for his servile subjects, but occasionally lost his temper and scared everyone witless. When heâ€™d sarcastically rejected every form of flattery, people gave in and started hating him. Exhausted and embittered, he retired to an island with his books, hoping that the senate would recover some dignity in his absence. This didnâ€™t happen. The backstabbing increased, and the legend arose that Tiberius was a monster engaged in any nefarious pursuit you can imagine (since disliking the limelight was unheard of). To what extent this is true, we canâ€™t say; but Tiberius prided himself on not being hurt by this sort of thing, and his tragedy is that it obviously hurt him very deeply. When he was told that his closest advisor, whom heâ€™d left in charge at Rome, had poisoned his son, he lost it, and ordered his first executions (after seventeen years of moderate, prosperous rule). He only had a further six, miserable years to live; he died unmourned, and was succeeded by his adopted grandson Caligula. That’s another story.

Almost a century later, the fascinating historian Tacitus tried to put Tiberius in a wider context in his monumental work The Annals: Why Monarchy is Evil (my subtitle). Tacitus was a shrewd analyst who crafted his history with as much compositional patterns as the most ornately wrought poem, and he constructed his characters on the basis that they had an underlying nature which revealed itself over time. As such, in order to understand the increasing tension throughout Tiberius’ reign, he presented Tiberius as a cruel, licentious tyrant who hid his vices for most of his life but eventually â€˜let it goâ€™. Napoleon dismissed this as a â€˜pamphleteerâ€™s calumniesâ€™ [i.e. resentful slander], but by ancient standards, it was an impressive attempt at psychology, combined with a masterful exploitation of evidence to suit a wider narrative; and despite everything, Tacitusâ€™ Tiberius – even at face value – comes across as a capable and dutiful but conflicted ruler, who hated himself for devoting most of his life to an institution he despised, and for failing to fix its problems – as, it so happens, did Tacitus. Ironically enough, Tiberius himself recognised that emotional trauma could drive people out of their minds. This is not to say that Tiberius was driven out of his mind. He loathed the idea of monarchy, but consented to become princeps (‘first citizen’, i.e. what we call ‘emperor’) out of a misguided notion that he could use the position to backpedal and restore the original Republican system. He was naively or wilfully blind to the paradox of this, and became increasingly disillusioned when it didn’t work, until eventually he washed his hands of it and retired. Tacitus conflates ‘the concept of emperor’ with individual emperors, and not entirely fairly but understandably he saw the mayhem that ensued in Tiberius’ absence as a direct result of Tiberius’ own wishes. This was certainly not the case; but Tiberius was a stubborn mule who could neither put up with the culture of sycophancy in the senate, nor bring himself to resign the principate entirely and let the senate run completely wild, which led to something of a stalemate. If he is to blame, it is because he took on too much responsibility.

The broad outline of Tiberius’ story – misunderstood ruler who flees in an attempt to help the city, which backfires – and, more importantly, the language used to describe it, seemed perfect for Elsa. I chose words that could be easily interpreted negatively as well, to demonstrate that the people of Arendelle misunderstand her, and also to allow for less favourable analyses of Tiberius – I havenâ€™t simply turned the song into an unbridled historical apologia! Moreover, the words are appropriate to Elsa even without the Roman context. (See Tolkienâ€™s response to suggestions that he based The Lord of the Rings on World War Two.) I might not have chosen a particular phrase if I were translating without references, but it still works perfectly well; as a result, the song can be read as one, two or three stories as you so choose. As with For the First Time in Forever, this song is a study in application, and my main point is: â€˜The history book on the shelf is always repeating itself.â€™

I also enjoyed referencing a variety of authors. I havenâ€™t only used the Annals, because one work wonâ€™t provide for the stylistic capitulations of the English version. That said, if any author exploits several literary influences successfully, itâ€™s Tacitus, so this is a tribute to him in more than one way! Itâ€™s testament to Tacitusâ€™ powers as a writer that Tiberius emerges as a cruel despot; to his integrity as an historian that itâ€™s possible to see past that image (not that he was perfect – he was certainly a fixer upper; wait, what?). But I have also used phrases from Cicero (Republican prose writer par excellence), some quips from Suetonius (imperial biographer of Tacitusâ€™ era), some reminiscences of Catullus from For the First Time in Forever, and Lucretius (Republican epic poet/philosopher) as a non-Vergilian style guide. I used them because theyâ€™re outside the â€˜Golden Ageâ€™ of Augustan literature. Tiberius (along with his younger brother Drusus, to whom he was devoted) was a staunch Republican in sympathies. Republican writing is generally (I find) a lot more striking, self-absorbed and persuasive than Augustan; Tacitusâ€™ style is very unusual, but he, too, was politically a Republican. Suetonius gets few marks for style, but he quotes the emperors a lot, which is useful.

August 2014 marks the death of Augustus, and therefore it marks Tiberius’ accession to sole power (he had been co-regent before that), so this is the perfect time to present a vision of ‘the empire after Augustus’. It was a joy to do this with such a hit of a song (now Oscar-winning!) and I’m glad that my vision of it – as much as it differs from practically everyone else’s in style and tone – seems to have gone down well. On to the annotations…

This is the code for references:

– All references to Cicero give the workâ€™s entire title; the numbers following (#.#.#) represent volume, chapter, line

– All references regarding Lucretius are to De Rerum Natura (On the Nature of Things), #.# representing book, chapter

– All references to Catullus are #.#, representing poem, line

– Tac. Ann. #.# – Tacitus, Annals, book and chapter

– Suet. Tib. # – Suetonius, Life of Tiberius, chapter

Here goes! I’ll put the original lyrics, the Latin translation and a colour-coded translation back into English (which is different to the translation I’ve put on the subtitles).

The snow glows white on the mountain tonight; not a footprint to be seen.

summi montis solitudine, nullas voces audio

In the solitude of the mountain at its highest point, I hear no voices.

I chose to say ‘no voices’, rather than something about â€˜footstepsâ€™, to echo Annaâ€™s words in For the First Time in Forever, where I translated â€˜I wonâ€™t be aloneâ€™ as voces audio (I hear voices).Â summi montisÂ (literally ‘of the highest mountain’) is the standard way to say ‘at the top of the mountain’.

A kingdom of isolation, and it looks like I’m the queen.

patria sepulta dominari videor

I seem to be lording it over [my] homeland, [which I have]Â buried

This is very difficult to translate back into English, because the literal translation above makes it sound like the ‘buried’ is Elsa’s perception, which is different to the English, where itÂ isÂ ‘a kingdom of isolation’. However, this sentiment is present in the Latin because of the word order, and the construction of the sentence.Â patria sepultaÂ is in the ablative, which could relate it to the verbÂ dominariÂ (‘to lord it over my homeland, buried’) or it could stand alone (‘My homeland is buried and I seem to be lording it about’). In addition, the Latin word ‘buried’ doesn’t work solely as an adjective, like the English: it’s a subordination, which means she could be saying ‘lord it over my buried homeland’ or ‘lord it over my homeland, which I’ve buried’.

The phrase patria sepultaÂ echoes Cicero, Oration Against Catiline 4.6.11. How did I get here? Well, the idea of monarchy was very unwelcome to Romans. They had had kings, and were determined never to have them again, and while the emperors were like kings, they avoided the word at all costs. So I wanted to get across the idea that Elsa seems tyrannical – but the negative connotations of ‘kingdom’ in Latin would be wasted, sinceÂ Elsa is a queen. I settled on the verb dominari (â€˜to lord it overâ€™) because being called dominus (master) was also a terrible insult to Romans. I decided to use sepulta for the adjective, inspired by â€˜buried in the snowâ€™ in the pop version, but I couldnâ€™t find a word for â€˜cityâ€™ or â€˜stateâ€™ that fit the rhythmâ€¦ I got patria after an extensive, exasperated search in the dictionary, and only then did I find out that patria sepulta was actually a phrase! Score!

The wind is howling like this swirling storm inside.

venti furentes meo erumpunt animo

Raging winds break out of my soul

furorÂ (related toÂ furentes)Â means uncontrollable passion, and for these to be breaking out of her soul isâ€¦ well, a bit of an event. It echoes such phrases as, â€˜indomitos in corde gerens â€¦ furoresâ€™ (â€˜nursing untamed passionate anger in her heartâ€™ – Catullus 64.54, of Ariadne, on seeing that Theseus had ditched her; see the previous instalment).

erumpereÂ is the word that Tacitus repeatedly uses to describe Tiberius showing his â€˜true coloursâ€™. Metaphors were stronger in Latin than in English (even though this isnâ€™t quite a metaphor).

Couldn’t keep it in; heaven knows I tried.

sortis contra vim nihil valeo

Against the force of fate, I have no strength

Promoting a word out of a prepositional clause (normal word order would beÂ contra vim sortis) is a poetical mannerism of which I am particularly fond. Catullus does it a lot.

Don’t let them in, don’t let them see,

comprimere, recondere

[You must] hold [it] in, hide [it]

Be the good girl you always have to be!

maioribus semper digna esse

[You must] always be worthy of [your] ancestors

Conceal, don’t feel, don’t let them know! … Well, now they know!

fieri populo odio … non paveo

I am not afraid of becoming an object of hatred for the people

The first bridge is a repetition of Elsa’s lines inÂ For the First Time in ForeverÂ (q.v.) – see at the very bottom of this post.Â In that song, Elsa was afraid to incur hatred; this part marks the crucial change. Grammatically it exploits Latin word order. All the verbs are in the infinitive. For the first three, â€˜Hold it in, hide it, always be worthy of your ancestors,â€™ you must supply something like debes (â€˜you mustâ€™). But then Elsa says ‘fieri populo odio‘ which with debesÂ means, â€˜You must become an object of hatred for the people,â€™ which doesnâ€™t make senseâ€¦ But then you hear the next part, non paveo (Iâ€™m not afraid) and see thatÂ fieri populo odio non paveo altogether means, â€˜Iâ€™m not afraid to incur the peopleâ€™s hatred.’.Â odio is a predicative dative.

Let it go, let it go!

fugio, fugio

I flee, I flee

Let it go: the single most difficult phrase I have ever had the pleasure of translating. (This gets technical.)

The repetition of this phrase throughout the song is a soundbite. Latin doesnâ€™t have soundbites. I initially translated it as libera (free) which worked really well – but was impossible to sing. The rhythm of libera is â€” u u (one stressed long syllable and 2 short), and the rhythm of â€˜let it goâ€™ is u u â€” (2 short syllables and a long, stress on the last). No matter how much emphasis I tried to put on the first syllable, there was still an unwanted stress on the last, which made it sound like the imperative of the verb (‘[I order you to] free’), or the ablative form of the noun (not â€˜I, freeâ€™ but â€˜with me, freeâ€™). Inflected language: it has its ups and downs! So I had to come up with other words.

New problems: Latin has very few verbs that are used on their own (e.g. Latin doesnâ€™t say â€˜I turn [around]â€™ but â€˜I turn myself [around]â€™), and u u â€” isnâ€™t a very common rhythm AT ALL. Most of the verbs I could think of just werenâ€™t suitable for the meaning. Thereâ€™s also a limited bank of 3-syllable adjectives with a short syllable in the middle. Part of me wanted to give in and useÂ libera but it just wouldnâ€™t sound right. So I settled on a general pattern of [adjective] [verb] for â€˜let it goâ€™. All of the words I used fit the rhythm u u â€” or â€” u â€”, with the exception of pectora (heart) which is â€” u u, but I made an exception here because itâ€™s a neuter plural 3rd declension noun, which in this form and context can only be accusative. Itâ€™s just â€˜cheatingâ€™, not â€˜fuzzing up the meaningâ€™ XD. Catullus did it.

fugio means â€˜I fleeâ€™, ‘I escape’ and â€˜I go into exileâ€™.

Can’t hold it back anymore!

nihil iam dissimulo

From now on I disguise nothing

dissimulo (â€˜disguise/hideâ€™) is Tacitusâ€™ buzzword for Tiberius. I think it’s the perfect word for what Elsa was doing with her powers: trying to pretend she didnâ€™t have them.

Let it go, let it go! Turn away and slam the door!

pectora resero / at dolores exclaudo

I’m opening [my] heart but I’m shutting out pain(s)

I chose the verb resero for â€˜openâ€™ (rather than the obvious aperio) because Lucretius uses it to describe the air. (And it fit the rhythm.)

dolores exclaudo is obvious – Elsa is slamming the door on her pain and previous life. However, I was also thinking ofÂ a scene where Tiberius is attempting to remain impartial and is seen as obstinatus et clausus (‘intractable and closed-off’) (Ann. 3.15).

I don’t care what they’re going to say!

oderint quin capiant

Let them hate [me] if they don’t understand

Of all the lines in this song, this is the one which would most quickly conjure up the image of â€˜Roman Emperorâ€™ (and which most illustrates Latin’s brevity). It is based on Tiberiusâ€™ motto, oderint dum probent (Suet. Tib. 59), which means â€˜let them hate me, as long as they respect my conductâ€™. He took this from a line in a tragedy by the early Republican poet Accius, oderint dum metuantÂ (‘Let them hate me, as long as they fear me’). The emperor Gaius (Caligula) returned to the original line, most likely in a thunderous speech to the senate in which he lambasted the senators for blaming Tiberius for all their own misdemeanours (Gaius had found evidence of this in Tiberius’ private papers; Tiberius, magnanimous as ever, had simply let the populace blame him rather than disgrace the senate, which he revered as an institution) and told them that he held them in such contempt that he wasn’t even going to bother trying to please them.

oderint quin capiant is supposed to mean, â€˜Let them hate me if they donâ€™t understand me,â€™ but â€˜understandâ€™ (though it is the meaning of the Italian capire) is a secondary meaning of the Latin verb capio which in the first place means â€˜captureâ€™, so it could also mean, ‘Let them hate me as long as they don’t catch me,’ which is probably how the people in Arendelle would take it. With ‘fugio’, this implies that Elsa is on the run – one way in which the Latin is less of a universal â€˜anthemâ€™ than the original English, and one way in which the Latin can be read in various ways where the English cannot (the English can be interpreted in different ways, but syntactically the words only mean one thing).

Let the storm rage on… The cold never bothered me anyway.

tenet tempestas animi requiem meritam

The storm holds the peace of mind that I deserve

‘The cold never bothered me anyway’ is another soundbite that I have translated differently both times (although in the pop version I’ve translated it consistently). animi requiem meritam echoes Tiberiusâ€™ request that the senate let him retire when he got old (Suet. Tib. 24). I translated these two lines as one entire sense unit in Latin, because Latin likes longer sentences. But I tried to make the word order as unexpected as possible. I think this is appropriate to Elsa, but again, Iâ€™ve looked at her entire story rather than just translated the song, so itâ€™s less of an anthem, but I think thatâ€™s a good thing. Applicability. Initiative. Ahem.

It’s funny how some distance makes everything seems small,

modis levat miris absentia curas

Distance/absence relieves [my] worries in strange ways

modis [word] miris (â€˜[â€¦] in strange waysâ€™) is a common construction in Latin (Lucretius uses it, e.g. 1.123), which can reasonably be compared to â€˜itâ€™s funny howâ€¦â€™. I chose the words absentia (absence/distance) and pertinax (unrelenting) because Claudius used them, together, to condemn â€˜my uncleâ€™s [sc. Tiberiusâ€™] constant absenceâ€™. This is a very Latinate word order that can’t be reproduced in English but you can see it from the colour combinations in the translation above!

and the fears that once controlled me / can’t get to me at all

et a metu pertinaci me tandem liberat

and finally frees me from constant fear

This line preserves the sense order of the English – the idea of fear comes first, only it is possible to makeÂ absentiaÂ the subject without sounding odd (‘and from constant fear, it finally frees me’) because Latin verbs usually come last.

It’s time to see what I can do, to test the limits and break through.

nunc ostendam placida maiestatem ingenitam

Now, peaceful, I shall show [my] inborn royal power

maiestatem ingenitam is my favourite part. Firstly, I used the word ingenita (innate) because Tacitus uses it to describe the noble bearing of Tiberiusâ€™ son Drusus (Ann. 1.29).Â maiestasÂ is a very complicated word. It originally meant â€˜the sovereign dignity of the Roman peopleâ€™. Then, under Augustus, this dignity was extended to the emperor. People could be tried for treason against Rome, but when the emperor had maiestas too, it essentially meant that people reported each other for insulting the emperor. Tacitus wishes to create the impression that Tiberius facilitated these trials. Whether this is justified is an essay in itself, which Iâ€™ll spare you. The point is that this lineÂ uses the word maiestas independent of all these connotations,Â but in view of the earlier references, the echo is clear. I was trying to suggest how easily someone might be misunderstood. It also sets the stage for Elsa not realising whatâ€™s happening in her absence.

No right, no wrong, no rules for me – I’m free!

depono tandem vincula rupta

Finally I lay down forever [my] chains, broken

â€˜No right or wrong, no rulesâ€™ – there are few things that Iâ€™d conscientiously refuse to translate, but this is one.Â Besides,Â I found this line confusing and abrupt even in the English. When exactly had Elsa resented being told that her power was wrong – moreover, when was she told that it was wrong? When had she expressed discontent at the position of princess/queen in principle? Grand Pabbie (Ciaran Hinds! <3 He played Julius Caesar in Rome) said that her powers held beauty and danger, but neither is said to be right or wrong. Nor is it suggested in the film that Elsa has decided to live by her own moral code – rather the opposite, since she flees to keep everyone safe! To me itâ€™s clear that the song was written before the story. More importantly though, I donâ€™t think â€˜reject right and wrongâ€™ is a constructive message to associate with â€˜be yourselfâ€™. It can easily be twisted to mean â€˜do what you think is rightâ€™, instead of â€˜do what is right regardless of what others thinkâ€™, and thence appropriated to justify anything.Â depono vincula rupta sidesteps this problem. deponoÂ means â€˜I lay down for goodâ€™ andÂ vincula rumpereÂ (â€˜break chainsâ€™) is a standard way to say â€˜regain freedomâ€™.Â My favourite official translations are Danish (‘goodbye to the tyranny of duty’) and Hebrew (I’m awake now and finally free’).

Let it go, let it go! I’m one with the wind and sky!

supera salio / ut caelo despiciam

I leap above to look down from the sky

I originally translated this as libera, naturae socia (â€˜free, one with natureâ€™), a deliberate nod to Lucretius, but I had to change it because libera didnâ€™t fit. I didnâ€™t want to use fugio again, and whatever verb I used, I wanted it to have a consequential relationship in Latin, i.e. making one sense unit from â€˜let it goâ€™ to â€˜skyâ€™. As ever, I was limited by the words that would fit. The resulting line is very literal and slightly dissonant, but I was determined to stay close to the English (many versions don’t).Â ut caelo despiciam (â€˜â€¦so that I might look down from the skyâ€™) is a response to the Latin version of Touch the Sky (an extended allusion to Augustus), and it comes across as very haughty (which Tiberius was XD), since despicio means â€˜look downâ€™ in a figurative sense as well.

Since writing this I have determined that if I were to redo this line (which has bothered me from the beginning) I wouldÂ change this and the next line to: superasÂ moliarÂ concordiam caeli in auras,

asperas ideo supprimam lacrimas.

‘I’ll build the harmony of the sky high up to the heavens, which will help me keep back my harsh tears.’

The first line is a reference to Tiberius’ rebuilding of the temple of Concordia (harmony) in his own name and that of his brother. Concordia was a goddess associated with Republican stability so it was a massive political statement. The language is very like that of Lucretius.

The second is taken from theÂ Lament for Drusus the ElderÂ (i.e. a poem written on the death of Tiberius’ younger brother) which exhorts Livia, their mother,Â supprimeÂ lacrimasÂ (hold back your tears).

Let it go, let it go! You’ll never see me cry!

posteram renuo immota gloriam

Unmoved, I reject future glory

This is a bold statement in Latin since gloria was the ideal of ideals (which is why I left it to the end, for suspense). In the original version I had translated â€˜that perfect girl is goneâ€™ as recuso gloriam (â€˜I refuse gloryâ€™), a topsy-turvification of a standard concept in the imperial age, gloria recusandi, â€˜the glory of refusingâ€™, i.e. getting credit for saying, â€˜Oh, no, I canâ€™t accept thisâ€¦â€™ and letting oneself be cajoled into it. This was standard for later emperors – Tiberius refused honours sincerely, but got tarred with the same brush. When I changed the lyrics, I decided to move this sentiment to the line â€˜youâ€™ll never see me cryâ€™, which I thought fell a bit flat. (You can see I’ve managed it above, but it needed to be linked into the previous line.) I couldnâ€™t use the word recuso because its rhythm is â€˜u â€” â€”â€™ so I used renuo which Tacitus uses to describe Tiberius rejecting a proposal in the senate, and which is also used when the gods deny something. I used posteram because it fit, but immota is what I used to translate â€˜frozenâ€™ in the pop version. It means â€˜motionlessâ€™. Tacitus uses it of Tiberiusâ€™ demeanour several times, and he also describes Tiberiusâ€™ reign – in a most disgruntled tone – as one of immota pax (stagnant peace). Surely peace would be a good thingâ€¦? Not for a Republican Roman (and politically, Tacitus was a Republican) – subjecting other nations to Romeâ€™s power was THE way for Romans to distinguish themselves. The idea of important men commanding armies was obviously incompatible with the idea of a royal family. So it suggests that the people back home are stuck, unable to do anything, which is what happens in Arendelle.

I really like this line so it was rather distressing to have to remove it when I ‘redrafted’ it (though I haven’t recorded the redrafted version) and I thought of putting it where I originally meant to put it (‘Let it go, let it go, that perfect girl is gone’) but then I’d have to lose the wordplay onÂ candoreÂ and considering the reception ofÂ Let it GoÂ I decided to retain the more positive message.

Here I stand, and here I’ll stay

haec constat sententia

This decision stands

Latin brevity again! sententia was the Roman word for judgement, opinion or sentence (in a court). This literally means, â€˜This sentence stands.â€™ constat impersonally means â€˜it is agreedâ€™; the adjective constans means â€˜firmâ€™, which Tiberius used of himself (Tac. Ann. 4.38).

Let the storm rage on…

tenet tempestas

The storm holds…

My power flurries through the air into the ground

nivis imperium tendo terras in omnes

I extend the snow’s domain into all lands

My soul is spiralling in frozen fractals all around

anima frigido aere frangitur in glaciem

In the cold air, [my] soul breaks into ice

And one thought crystallises like an icy blast

mens reclusa spirat auras lucidas

[My] mind, laid bare, breathes crystal-clear gusts

I’m never going back! The past is in the past!

inania somnia deurit veritas

Like frost, the truth destroys [my] empty dreams!

Most of this is not references but simply my attempt to reproduce the power of the words (the strongest part of the song, in my opinion). The best way to gauge the intended effect is to sing it. A few notes, however:

– I chose the word imperium (area of control) for ‘power’, rather than the less specific potestas, because it is the word used in Latin for the Roman Empire (a misleading translation), and â€˜extending the empireâ€™ was a Roman ideal – but Elsa isnâ€™t extending Arendelleâ€™s empire but the snowâ€™s.

– Alliteration in Roman poetry was a very early technique which gave a decidedly old-fashioned air. It was used by Lucretius, who was not in fact an archaic poet but was consciously trying to give the impression of being one to make his poetry seem more convincing. Tiberius also used it a lot in his speeches which made them sound even stuffier than they already were (since he was very self-restrained and esoteric; the Latin language is not the best suited to clarity in the first space). The alliteration of t and f in particular created a harsh sound, so I have both reproduced ‘frozen fractals’ (in ‘frigido … frangitur‘) and made the Latin sound badass in itself.

– mens reclusa (my mind, laid bare) is a reference to Tacitus Annals 6.6: â€˜If the minds of tyrants could be laid bare, you would see scars and slashes.â€™ This is based on a misunderstanding of a letter of Tiberius to the senate, in which he writes words to the effect of, ‘May the gods strike me down if I know what to write to you.’ Ancient authors interpreted it as meaning that he knew how wretched he was; but modern historians have analysed the language and noticed that it is very self-consciously composed (i.e. he knew exactly what he was writing, hardly indicative of a mind in turmoil) and contains very esoteric reminiscences of comedy, so he was saying: ‘For GOD’S SAKE, will you all GET A GRIP?!’ Unfortunately, he said it so subtly that no one got it.

– lucidas means â€˜illuminatingâ€™ in the sense of light and also in the sense of clarity, a double meaning also present in the word â€˜crystalliseâ€™.

– inania somnia deurit veritas is Elsa’s counterpart to Annaâ€™s lyrics in For the First Time in Forever - â€˜hodie tandem nostrae aetatis fiunt somnia veritasâ€™ (‘Today, our generationâ€™s dreams are finally coming true’). Elsaâ€™s line here was hard to translate back into English, because it depends on Latin word orderâ€¦ Altogether it literally means, â€˜The truth destroys empty dreams!â€™ but the word deurit means â€˜destroyâ€™ in the sense that an icy gust of wind destroys a plant in winter.

Let it go, let it go! And I’ll rise like the break of dawn!

orior, orior renovata prima aurora

I rise, I rise renewed at the break of dawn

orior is used of the sun rising, as in English. The ‘aura’ of this line is supposed to suggest Lucretius.

Let it go, let it go! That perfect girl is gone!

vivido maneo candore splendida

I remain, resplendent in [the] lifelike snow*

I think this is one of the poorest lines in the English, especially because the lyrics are mostly poetic from ‘my power flurries’ onwards. It was also one of the hardest to translate and I spent a long time finding suitable words.

vivido is quite a strong use of the adjective, which is relatively rare – it means â€˜true to lifeâ€™. splendidaÂ echoes Anna’s emphasis on light, which is a theme in Catullus’ poetry.

*Elsa is resplendent inÂ candor,Â which can mean ‘shining whiteness’, ‘snow’ or ‘honesty’ – so she’s equating the snow with her true self.

Here I stand in the light of day!

solvitur obscuritas

The darkness is dissolving!

obscuritasÂ does, obviously, mean ‘darkness’ but it is the word for ‘darkness’ that is most suited to a figurative context (the others areÂ tenebrae,Â ‘shadows’,Â andÂ caligo,Â ‘fog’). It is used, for example, when Cicero says that literature brings important lessons from history out into the light. More importantly (XD), it is used to describe Tiberius’ general manner, and the way he spoke (to hide his feelings). So here it is used both literally and figuratively – Elsa is stepping out into the light but she is also able to stop hiding her feelings.

Let the storm rage on! The cold never bothered me anyway.

tenet tempestas ut velim vivendi potentiam

The storm holds the power [for me] to live as I wish

ThisÂ references Ciceroâ€™s definition of freedom: â€˜quid enim est libertas? potestas vivendi, ut velisâ€™ (â€˜What is freedom? It is the power to live as you wish.â€™ Stoic Paradoxes 5). I changed potestas to potentia so it would fit – theyâ€™re almost the same, althoughÂ potentiaÂ has more connotations of force (I read a book somewhere that described it as a ‘sinister’ word). So Elsa says, â€˜The storm holds my freedom,â€™ and she accidentally defines freedom as ‘the unleashing of my power’. The lingering impression that the storm controls Elsa is intentional. The Latin word order suggests that sheâ€™s focusing on the benefits of this, as in the excellent French translation of the last line, â€˜The cold is the price I have to pay for my freedom.â€™

NB. I would say that the overall style of this song is â€˜emotive proseâ€™, expositional, rather than rhetorical. (QED: sheâ€™s singing to herself.) But from nivis imperium tendo to solvitur obscuritas, the language is increasingly poetic – only to shift abruptly back to prosaic with ut velim vivendi potentiam. The tone, however, doesnâ€™t really change. I think this acknowledges the changes in register in the English, but saves the jolt back to earth for the abrupt drop in the music. The English is increasingly poetic from â€˜my power flurriesâ€™ to â€˜like the break of dawnâ€™, and â€˜here I stand in the light of dayâ€™ is neither here nor there, but â€˜that perfect girl is goneâ€™, in between, is prosaic. The Latin is poetic poetic poeticâ€¦ WHAM after the unearthly shriek high note in the music.

Right, that is it. That was a veritable commentary. Iâ€™ve sung and re-listened to this song so many times that I can no longer decide what I think of it, but I certainly enjoyed composing it (even though it took me three weeks) and I gave it my best shot, so I hope you enjoyed it too!

As for the singing: for better or for worse, I think I managed to sound my age (I’m twenty), so I can save the cutesy quality for Do You Wanna Build a Snowman?. My voice is still awful, but sounding my age is a massive improvement, and this is a power ballad,Â so it could have been a LOT worse. In theory I have the required range, although you can hear me shifting to choir voice for the high notes (I can physically belt them, but I’m not that cruel). At least I stayed in tune, and I hope I managed to convey the changes in the emotions I think sheâ€™s feeling. Sorry about the avalanche inflicted on your ears (and the consequent pun) but I did record it about twenty times to get it as close to bearable as possible.

Lastly, a big HELLOOO to my remarkably patient, hilariously astute and generally wonderful magistri linguarum antiquarum, who may well read this and, if so, likely shake their heads in amused exasperation; and to my friends, who had to listen to me screeching this for three weeks while I was composing it (and who put up with all the Tiberius references).

May you all have a blessed Christmas and a very happy New Year. GREEK NEXT. Yikes.

I leave you with Tiberius’ sentiments on posterity: a speech he gave to the senate when a province asked if it could build a temple to him, partly, but probably not much, edited by Tacitus. I’m not sure he had a Disney song in mind, butÂ stet.

ego me, patres conscripti, mortalem esse et hominum officia fungi satisque habere si locum principem impleam et vos testor et meminisse posteros volo; qui satis superque memoriae meae tribuent, ut maioribus meis dignum, rerum vestrarum providum, constantem in periculis, offensionum pro utilitate publica non pavidum credant. haec mihi in animis vestris templa, hae pulcherrimae effigies et mansurae. nam quae saxo struuntur, si iudicium posterorum in odium vertit, pro sepulchris spernuntur. proinde socios civis et deos ipsos precor, hos ut mihi ad finem usque vitae quietam et intellegentem humani divinique iuris mentem duint, illos ut, quandoque concessero, cum laude et bonis recordationibus facta atque famam nominis mei prosequantur.

Senators, I bear witness to you that I am mortal, and that the position of emperor, which I consider a fulfilment of my earthly duties, is quite enough for me – and I would like future men to remember this also. For their part, they will sufficiently honour my memory, if they believe that I was worthy of my ancestors, attentive in providing for your needs, firm in the face of danger, and unafraid to act in the public interest, even with the possibility of incurring dislike. These will be my temples – in your hearts; these are the most beautiful memorials, these the ones that last. For those that are erected in stone are scorned as mere tombs if the judgement of posterity turns them into monuments of hatred. Accordingly, I address this prayer to my fellow citizens and to the gods themselves: may the gods give me peace of mind and understanding of human and divine affairs until the end of my days, and may my fellow citizens, when I have gone, speak of my actions and my name with praise and with pleasant recollections.

Edit: I was asked to put the full lyrics on, so here they are if you’d like to sing along

summi montis solitudine, nullas voces audio

patria sepulta dominari videor

venti furentes meo erumpunt animo

sortis contra vim nihil valeo

comprimere, recondere

maioribus semper digna esse

fieri populo odio non paveo

fugio, fugio, nihil iam dissimulo

pectora resero, at dolores exclaudo

oderint quin capiant

tenet tempestas animi requiem meritam

modis levat miris absentia curas

et a metu pertinaci me tandem liberat

nunc ostendam placida maiestatem ingenitam

depono tandem vincula rupta

supera salio ut caelo despiciam

posteram renuo immota gloriam

haec constat sententia

tenet tempestas

nivis imperium tendo terras in omnes

anima frigido aere frangitur in glaciem

mens reclusa spirat auras lucidas

inania somnia deurit veritas

orior, orior renovata prima aurora

vivido maneo candore splendida

solvitur obscuritas

tenet tempestas ut velim vivendi potentiam