Have always wondered about this. This is such an enormously famous quote although the exact choice of words has always perplexed me. Initially figured it is an artifact of translation, but then, wouldn’t you translate it into the new language in a way that is grammatical? Or maybe there is some intention behind this weird phrasing that is just lost on me? I’m not a linguist so eli5
In: 1806
I’m surprised no one yet mentioned French (and other Latin rooted languages). There are a set of verbs that use “to be” as their auxiliary. DR MRS VANDERTRAMP is a strategy to help French learners remember some verbs which use être as an auxiliary verb.
They’re basically all about movement or change in state, and they all take ‘to be’ instrad of ‘to have’ for the past tense.
The very first one is “devenir” or to become.
This structure is a rememant of Latin when it heavily influenced Early Modern English – where we get works like Chaucer and King James Bible.
TL;DR — “I am become” is old-timey like “thou” because it was codified (frozen) in early modern English texts. It’s based on Latin grammar that used “to be” for certain auxiliary verbs of movement.
I’m surprised no one yet mentioned French (and other Latin rooted languages). There are a set of verbs that use “to be” as their auxiliary. DR MRS VANDERTRAMP is a strategy to help French learners remember some verbs which use être as an auxiliary verb.
They’re basically all about movement or change in state, and they all take ‘to be’ instrad of ‘to have’ for the past tense.
The very first one is “devenir” or to become.
This structure is a rememant of Latin when it heavily influenced Early Modern English – where we get works like Chaucer and King James Bible.
TL;DR — “I am become” is old-timey like “thou” because it was codified (frozen) in early modern English texts. It’s based on Latin grammar that used “to be” for certain auxiliary verbs of movement.
Two nights ago I watched a documentary on Ryuichi Sacamoto and this phrase “I am become death” was featured in a live performance of one of his works. I literally had the same question, but kept it to myself. Thank you OP.
Two nights ago I watched a documentary on Ryuichi Sacamoto and this phrase “I am become death” was featured in a live performance of one of his works. I literally had the same question, but kept it to myself. Thank you OP.
Two nights ago I watched a documentary on Ryuichi Sacamoto and this phrase “I am become death” was featured in a live performance of one of his works. I literally had the same question, but kept it to myself. Thank you OP.
“I Am Become Death, the destroyer of worlds” is a quote from the Bhagavad Vida, which was not originally written in English, so the translation is a bit wierd to us.
“I Am Become Death, the destroyer of worlds” is a quote from the Bhagavad Vida, which was not originally written in English, so the translation is a bit wierd to us.
The top answer is the right one, but I’ve always read it poetically. Like an ethereal force describing itself. It has become Death, yet it was always meant to be Death, and has been since the it’s creation, and it always knew, but didn’t know at all.
“I Am Become Death, the destroyer of worlds” is a quote from the Bhagavad Vida, which was not originally written in English, so the translation is a bit wierd to us.
The top answer is the right one, but I’ve always read it poetically. Like an ethereal force describing itself. It has become Death, yet it was always meant to be Death, and has been since the it’s creation, and it always knew, but didn’t know at all.
Latest Answers