TEXT THROUGH TIME: TIME-DISTANT ORIGINALS, TIME-DISTANT TRANSLATIONS (JOHN MILTON’S “SAMSON AGONISTES” AND ITS TRANSLATIONS INTO UKRAINIAN BY IVAN FRANKO AND INTO SLOVAK BY MARIÁN ANDRIČÍK)

Abstract

The paper is dedicated to John Milton’s poem “Samson Agonistes” (published in 1671) and its two translations: the Ukrainian translation was done by Ivan Franko (1912; published in 1913), and the Slovak translation was rendered by Marián Andričík (2022). The translation strategies applied in both target texts illustrate the ways and limits of the reception and perception of common European – sometimes predominantly Christian – poetics among modern readers. Local divergences can contribute to the integral theory of textual recreations in reader-oriented translation strategies. The focus of the paper is on three hypotheses: 1) older translations have poorer quality than newer ones. The time span of a century is usually a period which can cause some linguistic changes turning an actual text into an outdated one; 2) Milton is a product of a monarchical society. Franko, as a citizen of an empire (Austro-Hungarian Empire), could better understand the monarchical expression than Andričík, as a citizen of a republic (Slovak Republic); 3) both Ukrainian and Slovak have similar problems and solutions for dealing with the high-fl own style of Milton’s text. The political dimension of high-fl own style can be traced throughout Milton’s poem: it gives some specifi c but not decisive fl avour to the text. The storyline focus is still on the biblical plot, and its violation can threaten the correct understanding of the poem. Despite the time span between Franko’s publication and today’s reader, this translation does not sound outdated, and it can satisfactorily perform all informative and aesthetic functions. Andričík’s translation is very precise: the brevity of his style impresses, while he manages to keep equilinearity in his translation. Moreover, the use of abstract nouns instead of specifi c high-fl own lexemes can serve as effi cient advice for other translators who have to cope with the lingual asymmetry.

Keywords

• translation theory
• equivalence
• political vocabulary
• cultural norms
• biblical phrasing