Translating Words, Translating Cultures

by Lorna Hardwick

Never have there been so many different types of translations of Greek and Latin literature into English. Most people experience Homer and Greek tragedy for the first time through translations. New versions of Vergil and Ovid have become best sellers. This book examines the literary and cultural environment underlying the various kinds of translation - from 'faithful' and 'equivalent' through 'imitation' to 'adaptation' and 'version' - discussing the extent to which translations have been regarded as creative work in their own right and their impact in the work of modern writers such as Harrison, Heaney, Hughes and Walcott.
Key themes include the challenge presented by translations to conventional interpretations of the classical canon; the implications of translating across genres - for example in the staging of epic; and the role of translations in twentieth-century conflicts. Lorna Hardwick suggests that translations from Greek and Latin literature are catalysts in the refiguring of both poetic and political awareness and that in transplanting myths and metaphors into disparate cultures, translations energise new senses of cultural identity.

Genres: Linguistics, Nonfiction

Paperback

First published August 24, 2000

About the author

Lorna Hardwick is professor emerita of classical studies at the Open University. She is a leading authority on classical reception studies and has published several books and articles on the subject, as well being the first editor of the Classical Receptions Journal.

Reviews

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lorna Hardwick has had an important influence on two related branches of the study of the ancient world: translation studies and reception studies. The former considers the extent to which the act of translation is also an act of interpretation and the historical forces that impact the act of translation. There is no such thing as an objective translation. The latter is a broader field which considers the ways in which ancient material of all sorts is recieved and reproduced in other periods, including our own. This book, despite the title covers both of these fields. The word “translation” is understood very broadly, and is considered to encompass adaptations and receptions of ancient texts. If you were hoping for a book solely focused on translation, then you may be disappointed. But the book does offer an interesting look into many recent re-purposings of ancient myths.

The first few chapters do focus on translation, and reveal the important role of female translators in the 19th century as well as the sexism that they faced. Interestingly, no woman had translated Homer until very recently (2015, a decade and half after this book appeared); in contrast, the first French woman to translate Homer did so in 1699. In English, that author was reserved for men, but women translated tragedy and used this emotive genre to express some of their own experience and give voice to their political needs. Another interesting point is made in the chapter on Irish translations and receptions of Classical texts. Normally, one thinks of British imperialism and the role that Classical education played in distinguishing the colonizing Brits from the natives that they ruled. But in Ireland it was different. The Irish already had a Classical tradition when the Brits began to usurp their native power, so Latin texts and Classical references served post-colonial purposes there. The post-colonial theme also plays a role in the works of Nobel Prize winner Derek Walcott, who produced his own Carribean adaptations of the ancient myths.

The book discusses movies and modern stagings or re-interpretations of ancient plays, but it doesn’t include any pictures to illustrate these highly visual mediums. This is a slim book, and I felt that some of its topics could have been handled more in depth, but if you are interested, you can always read more of Hardwick’s work. This is a very important book, and it is a good place to start for anyone interested in modern responses to the ancient world.

[Sam Berner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jargon-free review of the role of classical literature and its translation in creating social and political change in the world. Concise and to the point, it is also thought-provoking enough for me to want to look deeper into this field.