Should the translation of a poem from one language
to another be evaluated primarily on its adherence to the
original text? While some consider such adherence to
be the gold standard, this approach 1 will overlook the
fact that the very act of translation is centered on an act
of change. Although something is inevitably lost in any
translation, an evaluation of a translation should take into
account not only literal adherence to the original poem, but
also the creative act that each new work constitutes in
2 their own right.
[1] Certainly there are aspects of poetic composition
that can rarely be translated with their original rhetorical
3 force, verbal puns, cultural idioms, and rhyme schemes
are just a few examples. [2] When these details are
considered in the context of an entire poem, a faithful
translation seems even more impossible. [3] However, from
Catullus’s sapphic meter to Byron’s heroic couplets, no
method has even come close to capturing every aspect of
the original Greek poem. [4] Some translators emphasize
the sound of the original text, while others emphasize
structure; 4 focusing on the literal meaning of the word
is important to some translators, but to others it’s more
important to read between the lines. [5] However, regardless
of the approach to translation, the preservation of one
characteristic of a poem usually comes at the expense of
several others. 5
6 Some translators focus on a single characteristic,
but those who take a holistic approach often produce more
readable translations. Translators are not invisible and
passive mediums through which poems pass during their
transformations into other 7 languages; rather, each
translator is an active agent who enriches the text with
his or her own artistic choices. While the literal meaning
is important, the work of translators is 8 chronically
creative: given a poem, it is their job to find the words
that best represent the ideas contained within it, and
these words may or may not be precise translations of the
original. The sixth line in Sappho’s lyric could be rigidly
translated “[your laugh makes my] heart flutter in [my]
chest,” but Anne Carson’s creative translation—“puts the
heart in my chest on wings”—draws on the metaphorical
elements of the original phrase to create a more powerful
image.
In short, 9 the best translation of a poem is not
necessarily the one that adheres most closely to the original
version. This is excellent news for avid readers: for the
majority, it would be impossible to learn all the original
languages of great poetic literature. 10 But this apparent
‘gap’ in 11 knowledge, leaves space for a new phenomenon
and a new creative entity—the translator.
to another be evaluated primarily on its adherence to the
original text? While some consider such adherence to
be the gold standard, this approach 1 will overlook the
fact that the very act of translation is centered on an act
of change. Although something is inevitably lost in any
translation, an evaluation of a translation should take into
account not only literal adherence to the original poem, but
also the creative act that each new work constitutes in
2 their own right.
[1] Certainly there are aspects of poetic composition
that can rarely be translated with their original rhetorical
3 force, verbal puns, cultural idioms, and rhyme schemes
are just a few examples. [2] When these details are
considered in the context of an entire poem, a faithful
translation seems even more impossible. [3] However, from
Catullus’s sapphic meter to Byron’s heroic couplets, no
method has even come close to capturing every aspect of
the original Greek poem. [4] Some translators emphasize
the sound of the original text, while others emphasize
structure; 4 focusing on the literal meaning of the word
is important to some translators, but to others it’s more
important to read between the lines. [5] However, regardless
of the approach to translation, the preservation of one
characteristic of a poem usually comes at the expense of
several others. 5
6 Some translators focus on a single characteristic,
but those who take a holistic approach often produce more
readable translations. Translators are not invisible and
passive mediums through which poems pass during their
transformations into other 7 languages; rather, each
translator is an active agent who enriches the text with
his or her own artistic choices. While the literal meaning
is important, the work of translators is 8 chronically
creative: given a poem, it is their job to find the words
that best represent the ideas contained within it, and
these words may or may not be precise translations of the
original. The sixth line in Sappho’s lyric could be rigidly
translated “[your laugh makes my] heart flutter in [my]
chest,” but Anne Carson’s creative translation—“puts the
heart in my chest on wings”—draws on the metaphorical
elements of the original phrase to create a more powerful
image.
In short, 9 the best translation of a poem is not
necessarily the one that adheres most closely to the original
version. This is excellent news for avid readers: for the
majority, it would be impossible to learn all the original
languages of great poetic literature. 10 But this apparent
‘gap’ in 11 knowledge, leaves space for a new phenomenon
and a new creative entity—the translator.