Imperatyw konkretyzacji

Abstract

Imperative of Concretization: Translational Shifts and the Models of Reception of Howard Phillips Lovecraft’s Prose – The Case Study of "The Outsider" and its Polish Versions The Article discusses translational reception of Howard Phillips Lovecraft’s prose in Poland on the example of his short story The Outsider. The gothic tale of a mysterious recluse visiting human society, in its original version, has no explicit interpretation due to the fact that the maincharacter’s identity is intentionally left by Lovecraft without precise and unambiguous explanation for its readers to determine. Polish versions, however, modified in the process of interlinguistic transfer, are aimed at concretization of the text, and thus solving this interpretational puzzle with different answers given by five translators (Grzegorz Iwanciw, Robert Lipski, Ewa Morycińska-Dzius, Mateusz Kopacz and Maciej Płaza), influenced by a variety of factors: image of the American writer, knowledge of his other literary works, implied readers of the translations and artistic trends popular in Polish literature.

Keywords

• translational shift
• reception
• concretization
• adaptation
• weird fiction