Translations of Greek Tragedy in the Work of Ezra Pound (Bloomsbury Studies in Classical Reception)

Turning the tables on the misconception that Ezra Pound knew little Greek, this volume looks at his work translating Greek tragedy and considers how influential this was for his later writing. Pound's work as a translator has had an enormous impact on the theory and practice of translation, and continues to be a source of heated debate. While scholars have assessed his translations from Chinese, Latin, and even Provençal, his work on Greek tragedy remains understudied. Pound's versions of Greek tragedy (of Aeschylus' Agamemnon , and of Sophocles' Elektra and Women of Trachis ) have received scant attention, as it has been commonly assumed that Pound knew little of the language. Liebregts shows that the poet's knowledge of Greek was much more comprehensive than is generally assumed, and that his renderings were based on a careful reading of the source texts. He identifies the works Pound used as the basis for his translations, and contextualises his versions with regard to his biography and output, particularly The Cantos . A wealth of understudied source material is analysed, such as Pound's personal annotations in his Loeb edition of Sophocles, his unpublished correspondence with classical scholars such as F. R. Earp and Rudd Fleming, as well as manuscript versions and other as-yet-unpublished drafts and texts which illuminate his working methodology. Cover page 1 Halftitle page 2 Series page 3 Title page 4 Copyright page 5 Contents 6 Preface 7 Acknowledgements 10 Notes on the Text 12 Abbreviations 13 1 Translation, Metrics and Greek Tragedy 16 Introduction 16 The art of translation 17 Pound as translator 20 Pound and Greek tragedy 21 Pound and classical metres 27 Notes 33 2 Ezra Pound and Aeschylus 36 Pound’s 1919 essays on Aeschylus 37 Pound’s translation of the Agamemnon 45 Pound’s use of the Agamemnon in The Cantos 53 Notes 61 3 Ezra Pound and Sophocles 62 Sophocles at St Elizabeths 67 Pound and F. R. Earp 69 Pound and Rudd Fleming 71 Sophoclean masks 76 Notes 79 4 Sophocles, Pound and Elektra I 82 Introduction: scholarly approaches to Elektra 82 Pound’s Elektra 86 Prologue (S ll. 1–120; E ll. 1–140) 88 Parodos (S ll. 121–250; E 141–305) 99 Notes 109 5 Sophocles, Pound and Elektra II 112 First Episode (S ll. 251–471 = E 306–534) 112 First Stasimon (S ll. 472–515; E ll. 535–88) 120 Second Episode (S ll. 516–1057; E ll. 589–1194) 125 Notes 137 6 Sophocles, Pound and Elektra III 138 Second Stasimon (S ll. 1058–1097; E ll. 1195–1257) 138 Third Episode (S ll. 1098–1383; E ll. 158–1624) 143 Third Stasimon (S ll. 1384–97; E ll. 1625–33) 155 Exodos (S ll. 1398–1510; E ll. 1634–1802) 157 Conclusion: the style of Pound’s Elektra 163 Coda: Elektra in Canto 90 165 Notes 166 7 Women of Trachis – Introduction 168 Scholarly approaches to the Trachiniae 168 Pound’s methodology for translating the Trachiniae 170 The contemporary reception of Pound’s version 170 The style of Pound’s Women of Trachis 176 Themes of Pound’s translation 178 Influence of Noh 180 Notes 186 8 Sophocles, Pound and Women of Trachis I 188 Prologue (S ll. 1–93; WT 25–28: ll. 1–74) 188 Parodos (S ll. 94–140; WT 28–29: ll. 75–108) 193 First Episode (Sophocles ll. 141–496; WT 29–41: ll. 109–453) 203 First Stasimon (Sophocles ll. 497–530; WT 41–43: ll. 454–94) 217 Second Episode (S ll. 531–632; WT 43–46: ll. 495–598) 222 Notes 223 9 Sophocles, Pound and Women of Trachis II 224 Second Stasimon (S ll. 633–62; WT 46–48: ll. 599–629) 224 Third Episode (S ll. 663–820; WT 48–53: ll. 630–878) 228 Third Stasimon (S ll. 821–62; WT 53–55: ll. 788–832) 231 Fourth Episode (S ll. 863–946; WT 55–58: ll. 833–915) 239 Fourth Stasimon (S ll. 947–70; WT 58–59: ll. 916–38) 241 Exodos (S ll. 971–1278; WT 59–71: ll. 939–1242) 244 Coda: l. 1174, Neoplatonism, and Pound’s Cantos 257 Notes 261 Bibliography 264 Index 270 "Turning the tables on the misconception that Ezra Pound knew little Greek, this volume looks at his work translating Greek tragedy and considers how influential this was for his later writing. Pound's work as a translator has had an enormous impact on the theory and practice of translation, and continues to be a source of heated debate. While scholars have assessed his translations from Chinese, Latin, and even Provençal, his work on Greek tragedy remains understudied. Pound's versions of Greek tragedy (of Aeschylus' Agamemnon, and of Sophocles' Elektra and Women of Trachis) have received scant attention, as it has been commonly assumed that Pound knew little of the language. Liebregts shows that the poet's knowledge of Greek was much larger than is generally assumed, and that his renderings were based on a careful reading of the source texts. He identifies the works Pound used as the basis for his translations, and contextualises his versions with regard to his biography and output, particularly The Cantos. A wealth of understudied source material is analysed, such as Pound's personal annotations in his Loeb edition of Sophocles, his unpublished correspondence with classical scholars such as F. R. Earp and Rudd Fleming, as well as manuscript versions and other as-yet-unpublished drafts and texts which illuminate his working methodology"-- Provided by publisher