This dissertation aims at exploring Heaney’s approach to translation by focusing on some of his translations, namely Sweeney Astray: A version from the Irish (1983), The Cure at Troy: A version from the Irish (1990), The Burial at Thebes: A version of Sophocles' Antigone (2004) and Beowulf: A Verse Translation (1999). The selection of four of Heaney’s translations was made with the purpose of demonstrating the central role that it plays in the whole of his literary production, and his natural gift for openness to otherness, establishing a dialogue with a wide variety of authors, their cultural and political context, and their languages. Heaney believed that a proper translation should exist half-way “between a crib and an appropriation”, that is between the respect for tradition and its appropriation in order to keep it alive. This is visible in all the selected translations. Indeed, they are illustrative examples not only of an enrichment for his creative process as a poet but also a powerful means to express his concern for the complex political situation in Northern Ireland, and assert his Irishness. Sweeney Astray deserves special attention since it is Heaney’s first complete translation. In 1973, Heaney was dissatisfied with his work, especially with the weight of allegorical significance he had given it. Indeed, it would be another seven years before he brought the project to fruition. Even though his new focus made the second attempt a different kind of engagement, his biographical, topographical and political identification with Sweeney did not disappear totally but became just more subtle. Heaney’s original use of the classical tradition is embodied in his translations of Sophocles’ plays, which he entitled The Cure at Troy and The Burial at Thebes. Both texts are characterised by a balance between the ancient and the modern, between adaptation and innovation, between textual faithfulness and involvement in contemporary politics. In The Cure at Troy, however, political messages, which are meant to comment on the Irish questions, are more evident. As a matter of fact, Neoptolemus’ inner conflict between his personal integrity and his patriotic duty became a metaphor for the suffering condition of contemporary Northern Irish people of his time. As a result, Heaney saw in the ‘cure’ a means to heal deep cultural and political wounds caused by the inner clash in Ulster. Furthermore, the Irish poet took some liberties with his translation of Philoctetes: he changed the original title of the play, incorporated an epigraph, inserted some Irish words, and added a chorus speech both at the beginning and at the end of the play. As far as The Burial at Thebes is concerned, the title chosen by Heaney may immediately evoke some recent Irish events. However, no attempt to deal with certain dynamics of the contemporary political scene can be found in it. Yet Heaney felt free to play with language, colouring it with Irish nuances that are traceable both on a syntactic and lexical level. In his translation of Beowulf, the presence of Hiberno-English words and some non-conventional structural features, such as paragraphs, notes, running titles and the use of italics, makes the translation look like an original work. Nevertheless, despite these deviations from the original text, most critics have assumed that Heaney’s translation is a faithful rendition of the original poem, highlighting his effort to reproduce the syntactical and metrical complexity of Anglo-Saxon poetry. Therefore, Heaney’s Beowulf can be seen as the result of a linguistic act aimed at a cultural reconciliation between the Irish and the English, whose antagonism has lasted for centuries.
Questa tesi ha come obiettivo quello di analizzare l'approccio del poeta irlandese Seamus Heaney al mondo della traduzione, focalizzando l’attenzione su alcune sue traduzioni: Sweeney Astray: A version from the Irish (1983), The Cure at Troy: A version from the Irish (1990), The Burial at Thebes: A version of Sophocles' Antigone (2004) and Beowulf: A Verse Translation (1999). La scelta di limitare il campo della tesi a quattro traduzioni è stata dettata principalmente dalla necessità di dimostrare l’importanza della traduzione nella produzione letteraria di Heaney e la sua apertura nei confronti dell'alterità, in un continuo dialogo creativo con diversi autori e i loro contesti culturali, politici e linguistici. Heaney credeva che una buona traduzione dovesse posizionarsi a metà strada fra “a crib and an appropriation”, ovvero che dovesse rispettare il valore della tradizione, ma, al tempo stesso, usarla per mantenerla viva. Ciò è visibile nelle traduzioni oggetto d’analisi: dietro di esse si può scorgere non solo un arricchimento della sua opera creativa, ma bensì il tentativo di affrontare poeticamente le preoccupazioni suscitate dalla complicata situazione politica dell’Irlanda del Nord, ed esprimere la propria Irishness. Sweeney Astray merita un’attenzione particolare in quanto si tratta della sua prima traduzione completa. Inizialmente, Heaney è insoddisfatto del lavoro, soprattutto per via del significato allegorico ad esso attribuito. Tuttavia, nonostante il nuovo obiettivo del poeta di rendere la traduzione più fedele all'originale, la sua identificazione e coinvolgimento biografico, topografico e politico con il protagonista del racconto medievale non scompare, ma bensì diventa semplicemente più velato. The Cure at Troy e The Burial at Thebes sono l’esempio di un incontro creativo tra Heaney e la tragedia greca, in cui quest’ultima viene arricchita in modo originale. Entrambe le traduzioni sono caratterizzate da un equilibrio tra antico e moderno, tra adattamento e innovazione, tra fedeltà testuale e coinvolgimento nella situazione politica contemporanea. In The Cure at Troy, tuttavia, messaggi di tipo politico, atti a commentare le questioni irlandesi, sono più evidenti. Difatti, Heaney sembra paragonare la delicata situazione di Neottolemo, dilaniato tra il senso di integrità morale e il senso di dovere verso la sua patria, alla condizione dolorosa degli abitanti dell’Ulster del suo tempo. Heaney vede perciò nella “cura” uno strumento per sanare le profonde ferite culturali e politiche provocate dal conflitto interno del proprio paese. Inoltre, Heaney si prende alcune significative libertà con il testo originale a partire dal cambiamento del titolo, dal linguaggio ricco di echi tipicamente irlandesi, e dall’inserimento dell’epigrafe, del coro iniziale e finale di sua invenzione. Per quanto concerne The Burial at Thebes, se si fa eccezione per il ricordo di Heaney che dà origine al titolo, nessun altro riferimento alla situazione politica contemporanea può essere rintracciato in essa. Tuttavia, il poeta gioca con il linguaggio colorandolo di sfumature irlandesi, rintracciabili sia a livello sintattico che lessicale. Nella traduzione del poema epico anglosassone Beowulf, due elementi in particolare fanno di essa un'opera originale: la presenza di parole della varietà di inglese parlata in Irlanda, e alcune caratteristiche strutturali non convenzionali, come i paragrafi, i titoli correnti, le note e l’uso del corsivo. Nonostante ciò, molti studiosi ritengono che si tratti di una traduzione fedele all'originale poiché colgono in essa lo sforzo di Heaney nel riprodurre la complessità sintattica, stilistica e metrica della poesia anglosassone. Di conseguenza, la traduzione di Heaney può essere vista come il risultato di un atto linguistico volto alla riconciliazione culturale fra irlandesi e inglesi, il cui antagonismo dura da secoli.
Seamus Heaney translating "between a crib and an appropriation": a study of Sweeney Astray, The Cure at Troy, The Burial at Thebes and Beowulf
SFERRUGGIA, GIUSY
2019/2020
Abstract
This dissertation aims at exploring Heaney’s approach to translation by focusing on some of his translations, namely Sweeney Astray: A version from the Irish (1983), The Cure at Troy: A version from the Irish (1990), The Burial at Thebes: A version of Sophocles' Antigone (2004) and Beowulf: A Verse Translation (1999). The selection of four of Heaney’s translations was made with the purpose of demonstrating the central role that it plays in the whole of his literary production, and his natural gift for openness to otherness, establishing a dialogue with a wide variety of authors, their cultural and political context, and their languages. Heaney believed that a proper translation should exist half-way “between a crib and an appropriation”, that is between the respect for tradition and its appropriation in order to keep it alive. This is visible in all the selected translations. Indeed, they are illustrative examples not only of an enrichment for his creative process as a poet but also a powerful means to express his concern for the complex political situation in Northern Ireland, and assert his Irishness. Sweeney Astray deserves special attention since it is Heaney’s first complete translation. In 1973, Heaney was dissatisfied with his work, especially with the weight of allegorical significance he had given it. Indeed, it would be another seven years before he brought the project to fruition. Even though his new focus made the second attempt a different kind of engagement, his biographical, topographical and political identification with Sweeney did not disappear totally but became just more subtle. Heaney’s original use of the classical tradition is embodied in his translations of Sophocles’ plays, which he entitled The Cure at Troy and The Burial at Thebes. Both texts are characterised by a balance between the ancient and the modern, between adaptation and innovation, between textual faithfulness and involvement in contemporary politics. In The Cure at Troy, however, political messages, which are meant to comment on the Irish questions, are more evident. As a matter of fact, Neoptolemus’ inner conflict between his personal integrity and his patriotic duty became a metaphor for the suffering condition of contemporary Northern Irish people of his time. As a result, Heaney saw in the ‘cure’ a means to heal deep cultural and political wounds caused by the inner clash in Ulster. Furthermore, the Irish poet took some liberties with his translation of Philoctetes: he changed the original title of the play, incorporated an epigraph, inserted some Irish words, and added a chorus speech both at the beginning and at the end of the play. As far as The Burial at Thebes is concerned, the title chosen by Heaney may immediately evoke some recent Irish events. However, no attempt to deal with certain dynamics of the contemporary political scene can be found in it. Yet Heaney felt free to play with language, colouring it with Irish nuances that are traceable both on a syntactic and lexical level. In his translation of Beowulf, the presence of Hiberno-English words and some non-conventional structural features, such as paragraphs, notes, running titles and the use of italics, makes the translation look like an original work. Nevertheless, despite these deviations from the original text, most critics have assumed that Heaney’s translation is a faithful rendition of the original poem, highlighting his effort to reproduce the syntactical and metrical complexity of Anglo-Saxon poetry. Therefore, Heaney’s Beowulf can be seen as the result of a linguistic act aimed at a cultural reconciliation between the Irish and the English, whose antagonism has lasted for centuries.È consentito all'utente scaricare e condividere i documenti disponibili a testo pieno in UNITESI UNIPV nel rispetto della licenza Creative Commons del tipo CC BY NC ND.
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https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14239/972