Translating Patterns of Style in 'Hour of the Wolves'

For a translator of poetry, it is important to analyse the style of the original poem in order to gain access to the poetics from which the poem arose. I consider here the translation of a German poem, ‘Stunde der Wölfe’, by Volker von Törne, into English. Stylistic patterns in the original poem include the central metaphor of wolves and many other metaphors: birds, paths and journeys, night and winter. There are images of curtailment, intervention and impediment caused by natural agents such as wolves, hawks, wind and snow. And there are several patterns of repeated sounds. The translator must also look beyond the poem itself, to the context in which the poet was writing, and to the use of metaphor and myth in both languages. Considering the interaction of all these elements allows the translator to find ways of translating that preserve the central images and stylistic patterns

A Critical Introduction to Translation Studies

Met register en bibliografi

Translated Holocaust poetry and the reader

How are the indirect memories of disabled holocaust victims encapsulated in a poem by someone else? I argue that translating such poetry both preserves and enhances the memory by communicating it to a new audience

Poetry

The central question that most studies of poetry translation ask, implicitly or explicitly, is whether poetry can be translated. It may seem obvious that it can, since poetry has always been translated. One way of overcoming it is demonstrated by Burnshaw, who translates poetry into a non-poetic text with detailed commentary. This approach can, as this case illustrates, provide highly sensitive prose translations that allow the reader great insight into the original poems. Descriptive theory can enhance the poetry translator’s knowledge of what is possible, and thus be a valuable tool. Three main types of theory are likely to be of particular relevance to theorizing the translation of poetry: theories of poetry, theories of the mind and theories of translation. Much of the information about poetry translation that serves as the basis for theorizing is provided by practising translators in prefaces, notes, introductions and descriptive essays, as well as on various online platforms

Benjamin

Walter Benjamin is known to Translation Studies scholars mainly for one specific essay, that he wrote as an introduction to his translations of Baudelaire. Because this essay is usually read out of context, and Benjamin's other work is not taken into account, it can be hard to understand. It is important to read it in the context of Benjamin's views on language and creation, and the nature of history