Scan barcode
A review by spacestationtrustfund
Reading Rilke: Reflections on the Problems of Translation by William H. Gass
2.0
The biography of Rilke and the discussion of the background of the Duino Elegies felt very unnecessary. I'm here for the translation nit-picking, okay, so let's get on with it, yeah?
The author's own translations are situated after his comparison with other translations, which felt a bit odd to me. Surely it would make more sense to present the poems in the original language, then compare various prior translation, and only then suggest your own proposed solutions? Arrangement quibbles notwithstanding, the comparisons were fascinating. I do not prefer the author's translations—he tends to favour innovation of fidelity—but I did find the dissection of other translations interesting. Overall this book is best read as a collection of a handful of different translators' ideas of how to render the Duino Elegies in English, and not as anything more.
The author's own translations are situated after his comparison with other translations, which felt a bit odd to me. Surely it would make more sense to present the poems in the original language, then compare various prior translation, and only then suggest your own proposed solutions? Arrangement quibbles notwithstanding, the comparisons were fascinating. I do not prefer the author's translations—he tends to favour innovation of fidelity—but I did find the dissection of other translations interesting. Overall this book is best read as a collection of a handful of different translators' ideas of how to render the Duino Elegies in English, and not as anything more.