Opis
As the book attempts to show, theory met practice to the degree that a particular translator allowed for it.Interestingly, success in translation could be seen in a vast array of possibilities depending on individual translators’ approach and their courage to take risks where conformists would not dare to do so.
The present study attempts to introduce the views on translation of prominent 18th century writers, and to demonstrate, on the basis of samples, to what extent theory was applied in practice.The samples are carefully analysed and conclusions are drawn. The whole work consists of two parts, presenting all the information necessary to convey the theoretical background to 18th century translation studies.Chapter 1, after a brief account of the history of translation up to the 18th century, covers a spectrum of opinions on translation as advocated by the most distinguished representatives of the epoch (both Polish and English).Chapter 2 concentrates on the practical dimension of the study and reveals portraits of subsequent renditions which are analysed in the light of 18th century theoretical translation guidelines.The earliest translations from English into Polish are carefully analysed to establish whether given translators succeeded in reconciling both theoretical requirements and their natural geniuses.The findings of the research are based on relevant examples presented in the book.Each masterpiece is accompanied by original samples and illustrations.Chapters 3 and 4 present the 18th century poetry and drama translations supported by relevant examples.Chapter 5 focuses on culture-bound elements in the selected 18th century translations.The final conclusions allow us to form a wider picture of 18th century translations by juxtaposing all the examined literary works and their translations with the theoretical requirements, thus contributing to greater objectivity in the final commentary.The conclusions contain my individual comments, with particular emphasis on the dominant translation strategy preferred by a given translator.Attachment includes biographies of famous authors and writers whose works were used for the purposes of this research.
It is my hope that the theoretical and practical material as well as the resources presented in this book will serve as a useful reference which will encourage further research in the field of translation studies.At the same time, perhaps some of these stunning masterpieces will be rescued from oblivion as we carefully take them down from the top shelves to wipe away the dust.
