Miłosz as a Translator of Literary Roughness in Herbert’s Poetry

Abstract

The aim of the work is the analysis of translations of Herbert’s poems into English by Miłosz with a focus on preserving the so-called roughness of his style. This term encompasses non-obvious and awkward structures, which, according to Miłosz, were one of the most important elements of Herbert’s style and, therefore, needed to be present in the English versions. The text contains a comparative analysis of two poems by Herbert: “Elegy of Fortinbras” and “Apollo and Marsyas,” with their translations into English. The translations were compared with the originals, taking into account their general form, the vocabulary, and the syntax. The analysis of vocabulary and syntax showed that to maintain the style of the original, the translator changed places where literary roughness was present. The translations into English were also more conventional and rooted more in European culture (while Polish contexts were moved to the background). One can thus conclude that the idea of spreading Polish literature across other cultures was more important for Miłosz than the translation of literary roughness.