Analysis Of Yevtushenko's Translation Is Like A Woman

The Russian poet Yevgeny Yevtushenko once wrote, “Translation is like a woman. If it is beautiful, it is not faithful. If it is faithful, it most certainly not beautiful.” It should come as no surprise to any reader of this quotation that Mr. Yevtushenko has been married four times--in fact, he is known in the literary world for his numerous affairs. However, despite his own personal demons, Yevtushenko makes an interesting point: literal translation is never beautiful. In translating from one language to another, many of the little subtleties are lost; this is even truer with poetry. For how can any translator effectively take the iambic pentameter and rhyme scheme of Shakespeare’s writing and fully communicate the witty puns, the clever metaphors, …show more content…
Instead of Gummere’s “The monster was minded of mankind now / sundry to seize in the stately house” we get Raffel’s “Grendel came, hoping to kill / Anyone he could trap on his trip to high Herot.” Raffel translates Gummere’s “...minded of mankind...” to “...hoping to kill / Anyone…” Raffel’s prose is far more clear and straightforward--none of this muddy language for him! Grendel’s intent is clear: he is not simply thinking of mankind--he wants to kill! Notice also the specificity that Raffel uses in describing Hrothgar’s hall, Herot. The hall is not mentioned by name in the original, and Gummere translates the hall’s description as “the stately house”; however, Raffel uses specific prose (even if not literal) to make clear that the predator is attacking this specific, special (“high”) building. Because Raffel isn’t concerned primarily with literality, he is able to make his prose more specific and precise. The change from “stately house” to “high Herot” is not a major change, but it does illustrate that Raffel likes precision, even if it means that the translation isn’t as authentic as possible. Another example of Raffel’s distinct prose is in his description of Grendel’s approach to the hall. Immediately following the lines analyzed above, the poem tells of Grendel’s approach and breach of the great hall. Gummere’s literal translation reads as …show more content…
Raffel takes some smoldering coals of the original and blows on them--stokes them--to make the fire bright! Instead of Gummere’s “Under welkin he walked,” and replaces it with “He moved quickly through the cloudy night.” Each passage has two alliterative words, yet Raffel’s is far more descriptive. Raffel replaces the fussy “welkin” with “cloudy night”; in addition, he provides the reader with a clear description of the menacing movement of the beast: “Up from his swampland, sliding silently.” This line, found nowhere in the original, belies the dangerous nature of Grendel. The reader can’t help but sense the malice implicit in Raffel’s words, for what benevolent creatures moves by “sliding silently” from its swampy home? The descriptive nature of Raffel’s writing is also evident when the reader compares the home of Hrothgar’s men, the great hall Herot. Whereas Gummere describes it as “the home of Hrothgar,” Raffel provides far greater imagery when he tells of it as “that gold-shining hall.” This small detail--that the hall shines with gold--implies wealth, greatness, and significance; it is not just any hall--it is the hall of a great and rich warrior-king! Unencumbered by the burden of literality, Burton is able to provide a more exciting, vivid story for the