Translation of Poetry
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MASARYK UNIVERSITY IN BRNO FACULTY OF EDUCATION Department of English Language and Literature Cat Stevens’ texts Translation and analysis Bachelor Thesis Brno 2012 Supervisor: Mgr. Martin Němec Written by: Jitka Tomanová Declaration I hereby declare that this bachelor thesis was done by my own and I used only the materials that are stated in the literary sources. I agree with the placing of this bachelor thesis in the Masaryk University Brno in the library of the Department of English Language and Literature and with the access for studying purposes. In Brno, 20th April ............................................ Jitka Tomanová 2 Acknowledgement I would like to thank my supervisor Mgr. Martin Němec for his guidance, valuable advice and support. I appreciate his patient attitude, help and recommendation of literature. 3 Content 1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 5 2 Cat Stevens ......................................................................................................................... 6 3 Practical part ....................................................................................................................... 8 4 Theoretical part ................................................................................................................ 26 4.1 Basic principles of translation .................................................................................. 27 4.2 The theory of equivalence ........................................................................................ 27 4.3 Translation of poetry ................................................................................................ 29 4.4 Verse ......................................................................................................................... 31 4.4.1 Semantic centres ............................................................................................... 32 4.4.2 Rhythm, tempo and metre ................................................................................ 33 4.4.3 Free verse ......................................................................................................... 36 4.4.4 The lines divide and enjambment ..................................................................... 37 4.5 The rhyme ................................................................................................................ 37 4.5.1 Grammatical rhyme .......................................................................................... 38 4.5.2 Monosyllable , two syllables and dactylic rhyme ........................................... 38 4.5.3 The rich rhyme ................................................................................................. 40 4.5.4 The half-rhyme, the eye rhyme and pararhyme ............................................... 41 4.5.5 Rhyme vocabulary ............................................................................................ 42 4.6 Euphony ................................................................................................................... 43 4.6.1 Assonance ......................................................................................................... 45 4.6.2 Consonance ...................................................................................................... 46 4.6.3 Alliteration ....................................................................................................... 47 4.7 Figures and tropes .................................................................................................... 47 4.7.1 Tropes ............................................................................................................... 48 4.7.1.1 Metaphor ...................................................................................................... 48 4.7.1.2 Simile ........................................................................................................... 49 4.7.1.3 Personification .............................................................................................. 50 4.7.1.4 Synaesthesia ................................................................................................. 50 4.7.1.5 Periphrasis .................................................................................................... 51 4.7.1.6 Hyperbole and litotes ................................................................................... 51 4.7.2 Epithet .............................................................................................................. 52 4.7.3 Figures .............................................................................................................. 53 4.8 The graphic side of poems ....................................................................................... 55 4.9 Translation of poems‟ titles ...................................................................................... 56 4.10 Equivalence in translation of poetry ......................................................................... 56 4.10.1 Lexical equivalence .......................................................................................... 57 4.10.1.1 Formal distinctions ................................................................................... 57 4.10.1.2 Differences in denotation ......................................................................... 58 4.10.1.3 Differences in connotation ....................................................................... 58 4.10.1.4 Pragmatic distinctions .............................................................................. 59 4.10.2 The absence of equivalents .............................................................................. 59 5 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................ 61 Summary .................................................................................................................................. 63 Resumé ..................................................................................................................................... 64 Works cited .............................................................................................................................. 65 4 1 Introduction For my bachelor thesis I have chosen a translation of poetry as I have always been interested in this kind of literature. Translation of poetry presents a challenge and I would like to discover whether I am able to deal with the difficulties of this type of literary work. Furthermore, translation requires a certain kind of level of creativity and language skills and I would like to achieve through experience of my own abilities and boundaries. I have chosen Cat Stevens‟ texts for several reasons. Firstly, I have always enjoyed reading them and listening to his texts. Secondly, I have known him since my childhood and I am familiar with his life and work. Therefore, I hope I have a good basis for interpretation of his poems. And lastly, I knew several translations of his texts which do not represent the original in an adequate way, and in my opinion the translations should be realized more carefully with higher attention to the source. Stevens‟ texts and topics underwent many changes and I would like to try express his findings in Czech. At the beginning of the thesis I would like to emphasize that Cat Stevens‟ texts are written as lyrics. With regard to my limited language skills and lack of academic experience with translation I have decided to deal with the texts as I would do with poetry. As a result, most of the texts are written in the free verse. I will refer to the texts as to poems. My intention is to present a modern translation, poetically and thoughtfully considering the original. Nowadays the main tendency in theories of translation is the equivalence theory. In the theoretical part I will work mainly with the ideas of Czech authors Jiří Levý and Dagmar Knittlová, particularly with opinions of Peter Newmark, Mona Baker and Milan Hrdlička. According to Jiří Levý translating of poetry offers an amount of problems because of the high number of invariant features of this literary kind (Levý 1963). Although the expressions in poems do not often demand the precious translations of denotative meanings, the attention must be given to the form and keeping the mood of the text appears as substantial. In order to reach the same effect it is needed to treat carefully the elements of poetry: rhythm, verse, rhyme and euphony. I will focus mainly on these components during my translation and then I will concentrate on problems connected with them in an analysis. The structure of bachelor thesis will be following. The brief introduction of the author will be followed by a practical part concerning the translations. The theoretical part will deal with problems of translation poetry based on the practical part and then the conclusion will be made. 5 2 Cat Stevens Cat Stevens‟ original name is Stevens Demeter Georgiou. His father was Greek and his mother was Swedish, both were living in London. Stevens was born 21st July 1948. His father has a restaurant very near the West End and this neighbourhood with its inspiriting atmosphere influenced Stevens very much. “At night, musicals would echo from Drury Lane just across the road and drift up through his window; he would oftentimes be found hanging around in coffee