Miłosz as a Translator of Literary Roughness in Herbert’s Poetry

Julia Maryniak

University of Lodz, Poland

Julia Maryniak is an MA graduate of English Philology, German Philology and History at the University of Łódź. She is interested in literary translation, in particular, the translation of Polish modern poetry, and its reception in English-speaking and German-speaking countries. Moreover, she has a special interest in translators who took on the role of authors, such as: Czesław Miłosz or Karl Dedecius.

https://orcid.org/0009-0003-4952-6070

Abstract

The aim of the work is the analysis of translations of Herbert’s poems into English by Miłosz with a focus on preserving the so-called roughness of his style. This term encompasses non-obvious and awkward structures, which, according to Miłosz, were one of the most important elements of Herbert’s style and, therefore, needed to be present in the English versions. The text contains a comparative analysis of two poems by Herbert: “Elegy of Fortinbras” and “Apollo and Marsyas,” with their translations into English. The translations were compared with the originals, taking into account their general form, the vocabulary, and the syntax. The analysis of vocabulary and syntax showed that to maintain the style of the original, the translator changed places where literary roughness was present. The translations into English were also more conventional and rooted more in European culture (while Polish contexts were moved to the background). One can thus conclude that the idea of spreading Polish literature across other cultures was more important for Miłosz than the translation of literary roughness.

Keywords:

translation, translator studies, translation of poetry, translation of Polish poetry into English, Miłosz, Herbert