Studia Litterarum (Dec 2024)

Translating the Melancholy Tone: E.A. Poe and Ch. Baudelaire

  • César Martínez Celis Díaz

DOI
https://doi.org/10.22455/2500-4247-2024-9-4-70-85
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 9, no. 4
pp. 70 – 85

Abstract

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This article addresses the transfer process of the melancholy tone in Ch. Baudelaire’s translation of Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven.” The comparison between both variants of the translation, done respectively in 1853–1854 and 1864, allows us to understand the changes within Baudelaire’s aesthetics. While translating “The Raven,” Baudelaire faces Poe’s idea of a “melancholy tone” as the basis of the poem and its relevance to its general meaning. The article shows how, throughout this process, Baudelaire rebuilds such a melancholy tone by following the structure given by Poe and adding from himself. This endeavor would not only create a new melancholy tone for “The Raven” but also change the way Baudelaire would create the melancholy ambiance in his further works.

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