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On Translating Homer
- Format:
- Book
- Author/Creator:
- Arnold, Matthew, 1822-1888
- Language:
- English
- Physical Description:
- 1 online resource : multiple file formats
- Place of Publication:
- Salt Lake City, UT : Project Gutenberg,
- Summary:
- "On Translating Homer" by Matthew Arnold is a critical treatise on the art and challenges of translating the works of the ancient poet Homer, written in the late 19th century. The text discusses various translation methods and philosophies, particularly examining contemporary translations by Arnold's peers, including Francis William Newman. This work ultimately serves as an exploration of how to faithfully convey Homer's style, motion, and grandeur while navigating the nuances of language differences. At the start of the work, Arnold reflects on the suggestion he has received to translate Homer himself, which leads him to analyze the importance of fidelity to Homer's original style in translation. He critiques various translations, emphasizing the need for translators to understand the essential qualities of Homer: his rapidity, plainness, directness, and nobleness. Arnold believes that a translator should focus on producing an effect similar to that of the original for a scholarly audience, rather than attempting to make the text feel entirely novel or modern. Arnold argues against various theories of translation philosophy, urging a balance of fidelity to Homer while also capturing his unique emotional and stylistic qualities for an English-speaking audience. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
- Contents:
- On translating Homer, by M. Arnold
- Homeric translation in theory and practice. A reply to Matthew Arnold, by F.W. Newman
- A reply to Francis W. Newman, by M. Arnold.
- Credits:
- E-text prepared by deaurider, David King, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team (https://www.pgdp.net) from page images generously made available by Internet Archive (https://archive.org)
- Notes:
- Reading ease score: 59.8 (10th to 12th grade). Somewhat difficult to read.
- Wikipedia page about this book: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_Translating_Homer
- Release date is 2021-05-19
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