The Oxford History of Literary Translation in English: Volume 4: 1790-1900 (Oxford History of Literary Translation in English)

This groundbreaking five-volume history runs from the Middle Ages to the year 2000. It is a critical history, treating translations wherever appropriate as literary works in their own right, and reveals the vital part played by translators and translation in shaping the literary culture of the English-speaking world, both for writers and readers. It thus offers new and often challenging perspectives on the history of literature in English. As well as examining the translations and their wider impact, it explores the processes by which they came into being and were disseminated, and provides extensive bibliographical and biographical reference material. In the one hundred and ten years covered by volume four of The Oxford History of Literary Translation in English , what characterized translation was above all the move to encompass what Goethe called "world literature." This occurred, paradoxically, at a time when English literature is often seen as increasingly self-sufficient. In Europe, the culture of Germany was a new source of inspiration, as were the medieval literatures and the popular ballads of many lands, from Spain to Serbia. From the mid-century, the other literatures of the North, both ancient and modern, were extensively translated, and the last third of the century saw the beginning of the Russian vogue. Meanwhile, as the British presence in the East was consolidated, translation helped readers to take possession of "exotic" non-European cultures, from Persian and Arabic to Sanskrit and Chinese. The thirty-five contributors bring an enormous range of expertise to the exploration of these new developments and of the fascinating debates which reopened old questions about the translator's task, as the new literalism, whether scholarly or experimental, vied with established modes of translation. The complex story unfolds in Britain and its empire, but also in the United States, involving not just translators, publishers, and readers, but also institutions such as the universities and the periodical press. Nineteenth-century English literature emerges as more open to the foreign than has been recognized before, with far-reaching effects on its orientation. Contents......Page 6 General Editors’ Foreword......Page 9 List of Contributors......Page 10 List of Abbreviations......Page 12 Transliteration......Page 13 Preface......Page 14 1. Translation in Britain and the United States......Page 18 1.1 Translation and British Literary Culture......Page 20 1.2 Translation in the United States......Page 37 1.3 Readers and Publishers of Translations in Britain......Page 51 1.4 Translation, Politics, and the Law......Page 65 2. Principles and Norms of Translation......Page 76 3. The Translator......Page 100 3.1 Professionals......Page 102 3.2 Amateurs and Enthusiasts......Page 115 3.3 Writers......Page 122 3.4 Academics......Page 134 3.5 Women......Page 142 4. The Publication of Literary Translation: An Overview......Page 150 5. Greek and Latin Literature......Page 170 5.1 Introduction......Page 172 5.2 Homer......Page 185 5.3 Greek Drama......Page 195 5.4 Latin Poetry......Page 205 5.5 Greek and Latin Prose......Page 217 6. Literatures of Medieval and Modern Europe......Page 226 6.1 German......Page 228 6.2 French......Page 247 6.3 Italian......Page 263 6.4 Spanish and Portuguese......Page 278 6.5 Early Literature of the North......Page 291 6.6 Modern Scandinavian......Page 303 6.7 Celtic......Page 311 6.8 Literatures of Central and Eastern Europe......Page 325 7. Eastern Literatures......Page 338 7.1 Arabic......Page 340 7.2 Persian......Page 349 7.3 Literatures of the Indian Subcontinent......Page 357 7.4 Chinese......Page 372 7.5 Japanese......Page 380 8. Popular Culture......Page 386 8.1 Popular Fiction......Page 388 8.2 Popular Theatre......Page 399 8.3 Children’s Literature......Page 411 9. Texts for Music and Oral Literature......Page 426 9.1 Hymns......Page 428 9.2 Opera, Oratorio, Song......Page 437 9.3 Oral Literature......Page 447 10. Sacred and Religious Texts......Page 458 10.1 Christian Texts......Page 460 10.2 The Revised Version of the Bible......Page 468 10.3 Sacred Books of the East......Page 475 11. Philosophy, History, and Travel Writing......Page 488 11.1 Greek and Roman Philosophy......Page 490 11.2 Modern Philosophy, Theology, Criticism......Page 498 11.3 Modern History and Socio-political Theory......Page 506 11.4 Exploring the World......Page 515 12. The Translators: Biographical Sketches......Page 522 A......Page 578 B......Page 579 C......Page 582 D......Page 585 E......Page 586 F......Page 587 G......Page 589 H......Page 590 J......Page 593 K......Page 594 L......Page 595 M......Page 596 O......Page 599 P......Page 600 R......Page 603 S......Page 604 T......Page 608 U......Page 609 W......Page 610 Y......Page 611 Z......Page 612 'Colossal work-in-progress ... eminently browsable and consultable ... The transatlanticization of English studies to which we solemnly enjoin one another these days is all very well, but as the new History before us shows, that oft-crossed pond was not the half of it.' Herbert F. Tucker, Modern Philology Translation has played a vital part in the history of literature throughout the English speaking world. This work aims to cast new light on the history of English literature and the changing nature and function of translation as well as the social and intellectual milieu of the translators In an essay of 1821, Thomas De Quincey insisted that English literature needed the stimulus of foreign literatures: 'So it is with the literatures of whatsoever land: unless crossed by some other of different breed, they all tend to superannuation.' 'A major resource that will provide new insights into the development of the literary canon ... the amount of information contained is prodigious ... should remain a standard reference work for a long time.' Alan Turner, Modern Language Quarterly 'This collection is a goldmine of information regarding an important part of our literary heritage in an age in which it reached unparalleled heights.' Contemporary Review --Book Jacket "The editors and contributors are to be warmly congratulated for assembling, consolidating and making available so much useful knowledge' William St Clair, Times Literary Supplement