I am reading a collection of essays, The Craft of Translation, edited by John Biguenet and Rainer Schulte and published by the University of Chicago press in 1989. I recommend it if you can find it in a library (and when you can find the time to read it). I am about halfway through it, and most of it has been rather interesting discussions about translating poetry. For example, one of the essays is about translating medieval poetry that was written by a scholar who translated Beowulf and Sir Gawane and the Green Knight. For someone like me who appreciates the literal meaning of words, translating poetry seems to be best done by a translator who is willing and able to share their notes and insights with their readers.
I like your ice cream and cone analogy! Literary critic Robert Scholes in "Elements of Fiction" writes about the value of slowing down, paying attention, and not being too hurried to get through the story: Plot wants to move us along; design wants us to delay our movement, to make us pause and "see". The counteraction of these two forces is one of the things which enriches our experience of fiction. (sidenote: I think you may be referring to Arthur Waley's translation of Journey to the West which not only cuts out the poetry but omits several episodes entirely).
I am reading a collection of essays, The Craft of Translation, edited by John Biguenet and Rainer Schulte and published by the University of Chicago press in 1989. I recommend it if you can find it in a library (and when you can find the time to read it). I am about halfway through it, and most of it has been rather interesting discussions about translating poetry. For example, one of the essays is about translating medieval poetry that was written by a scholar who translated Beowulf and Sir Gawane and the Green Knight. For someone like me who appreciates the literal meaning of words, translating poetry seems to be best done by a translator who is willing and able to share their notes and insights with their readers.
Thank you! This is right up my alley - I’ll see if I can find a copy.
I like your ice cream and cone analogy! Literary critic Robert Scholes in "Elements of Fiction" writes about the value of slowing down, paying attention, and not being too hurried to get through the story: Plot wants to move us along; design wants us to delay our movement, to make us pause and "see". The counteraction of these two forces is one of the things which enriches our experience of fiction. (sidenote: I think you may be referring to Arthur Waley's translation of Journey to the West which not only cuts out the poetry but omits several episodes entirely).