Journal archive

Abstract: The article reviews the two-volume book “Studies in the History and Theory of Literary Translation” by E. G. Etkind, the first volume of which is the monograph “Poetry and Translation” (1963), and the second one contains 11 articles published in different years. The publication of the book was timed to coincide with the centenary of the birth of E. G. Etkind (1918–1999), a Leningrad professor, literary critic, translator, and scholar who played a significant role in the development of the aesthetics of poetry translation. From 1974 the scholar was in forced emigration and until 1985 his name was banned, and all his works were withdrawn from libraries. The monograph examines the criteria for the accuracy of translation, depending on the belonging of the original text to the artistic method of classicism, romanticism or realism. It is important in the work of a translator to be aware of the style, metric characteristics, and structure of the verse under translation, for which the translator must have not only knowledge of literature, but also of history, culture, and geography of foreign countries. The second volume contains articles on the history of Russian translated poetry and the history of French poetry in Russian translations. The main focus of the articles is on the analysis of the literary translation activity of the most significant poets and translators of the 20th century: M. Lozinsky, S. Marshak, B. Pasternak, etc.