<p>The <a href="http://jssisdubai.com/document/uploaded/matilda.pdf" rel="nofollow noreferrer">original English</a> (p. 4) of 如果那天我正好是诗情勃发 is:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>"Or if I were feeling lyrical that day."</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Your breakdown is okay. <strong>诗情</strong> is a word of its own though, it is defined by <em>ABC</em> as:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>poetic sentiment</p>
</blockquote>

<p>You might even make a case for <strong>诗情勃发</strong> as a single term.</p>

<p>Chinese translations of English works are notoriously bad in general and this translation doesn't seem any more <em>natural</em>.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-09-15T01:14:54.713Z
2019-09-15T01:20:39.743Z
2019-09-15T01:20:39.743Z
Mou某
<p>诗情 (poetic sentiment) 畫意 (picture like feel)</p>

<p>"诗情畫意" is a common expression for  "artistic vibe" (both poem and painting are art)</p>

<p>"lyrical" (抒情)  is an adjective that describe a feeling of a person</p>

<p>"if I were feeling lyrical that day."  should be translated as "如果那天我诗興大发" </p>

<p>"诗興" means "desire to create poem (desire to be artistic) "</p>

<p>"诗情勃发" would mean "my artistic vibe strongly express itself"</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-09-15T03:45:32.223Z
2019-09-15T03:45:32.223Z
Tang Ho
<p>I went to a library the other day and found Roald Dahl's Matilda.  I started reading, and I found what I think might be a typo (but maybe not---Roald Dahl has a quirky writing style):</p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/35vxo.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/35vxo.jpg" alt="The second page of Roald Dahl&#39;s Matilda"></a></p>

<p>My transcription:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>如果那天<strong>我正好是诗情勃发</strong>，我还可能这么写：”虽说稀奇，却是事实，...  </p>
</blockquote>

<p>Here's my attempt at disassembling this:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>If [如果] that day [那天], I [我] just enough [正好] am [是] poem [诗] emotion [情] break out [勃发], I [我] still [还] can [可能] write this way [这么写]: "although [虽说] it's odd [稀奇], but [却] it is [是] a fact [事实], ...</p>
</blockquote>

<p>I'm just wondering how to make sense of this, particularly the part in bold.</p>

<p><strong>Question</strong>:  What does 我正好是诗情勃发 mean in the Chinese translation of Roald Dahl's Matilda (p.2)?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-09-15T13:02:36.823Z
You seem to have added in an extra verb. It just says 如果那天我正好诗情勃发 – there’s no 是. Also, 正好 doesn’t mean ‘just enough’ here, but rather ‘just then happen to be’, i.e., “If on that day I just happened to…”.
Janus Bahs Jacquet
<translation><meaning-in-context>
What does 我正好是诗情勃发 mean in the Chinese translation of Roald Dahl's Matilda (p.2)?
# What does 我正好是诗情勃发 mean in the Chinese translation of Roald Dahl's Matilda (p.2)?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2019-09-15)

I went to a library the other day and found Roald Dahl's Matilda. I started reading, and I found what I think might be a typo (but maybe not---Roald Dahl has a quirky writing style):

[![The second page of Roald Dahl's Matilda](https://i.sstatic.net/35vxo.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/35vxo.jpg)

My transcription:

> 如果那天**我正好是诗情勃发**，我还可能这么写：”虽说稀奇，却是事实，...

Here's my attempt at disassembling this:

> If [如果] that day [那天], I [我] just enough [正好] am [是] poem [诗] emotion [情] break out [勃发], I [我] still [还] can [可能] write this way [这么写]: "although [虽说] it's odd [稀奇], but [却] it is [是] a fact [事实], ...

I'm just wondering how to make sense of this, particularly the part in bold.

**Question**: What does 我正好是诗情勃发 mean in the Chinese translation of Roald Dahl's Matilda (p.2)?

**Tags:** translation, meaning-in-context

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: You seem to have added in an extra verb. It just says 如果那天我正好诗情勃发 – there’s no 是. Also, 正好 doesn’t mean ‘just enough’ here, but rather ‘just then happen to be’, i.e., “If on that day I just happened to…”.  

---

## 2 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2019-09-15. Score: 4 | Accepted answer

The [original English](http://jssisdubai.com/document/uploaded/matilda.pdf) (p. 4) of 如果那天我正好是诗情勃发 is:

> "Or if I were feeling lyrical that day."

Your breakdown is okay. **诗情** is a word of its own though, it is defined by *ABC* as:

> poetic sentiment

You might even make a case for **诗情勃发** as a single term.

Chinese translations of English works are notoriously bad in general and this translation doesn't seem any more *natural*.


---

### Answer by username_3 on 2019-09-15. Score: 2

诗情 (poetic sentiment) 畫意 (picture like feel)

"诗情畫意" is a common expression for "artistic vibe" (both poem and painting are art)

"lyrical" (抒情) is an adjective that describe a feeling of a person

"if I were feeling lyrical that day." should be translated as "如果那天我诗興大发"

"诗興" means "desire to create poem (desire to be artistic) "

"诗情勃发" would mean "my artistic vibe strongly express itself"


---

