The Curious
The Curious - meaning Summary
Familiarity and Blunt Honesty
A short dramatic exchange between two acquaintances, one pestering for gossip and the other resisting. The interrogator demands news with insistent questions and accusations of secrecy; the respondent replies brusquely, offering only the blunt insult that the questioner is a fool and that this is not news. The poem frames familiarity, teasing, and social banter, suggesting how intimacy can be expressed through provocation and concise dismissal.
Read Complete Analyses‘Well, what is new?’ – ‘I swear nothing else.’ – ‘Hey, don’t cheat me; for sure, something you know. It is a shame, that from your mate, the best, You hide the things, as from a hardened foe. Or are you cross: then why, my dear friend? Just say a word; don’t play a stubborn role …’ – ‘Oh, go away, I only know that You are a fool and it isn’t new, in whole. Translated by Yevgeny Bonver The Curious — What’s new? “I tell you, nothing whatsoever.” — Don’t fool with me: you’re hiding it, I know. Oh, don’t you feel ashamed? you think you’re clever To hide the news from me like from a foe? Oh, tell me, brother, why? Inform me, I insist! Don’t be so stubborn, give me just a clue... “Oh, let me be, the only thing I know is this — That you’re a fool, but that is nothing new.” Translated by Andrey Kneller
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