1796: When the Terror Ballad Came to Britain

Year 2019, , 16 - 36, 31.12.2019

Robert William Rix

https://doi.org/10.21547/jss.610699

Cited By: 1

Abstract

In 1796,
numerous English translations of the German writer Gottfried
August Bürger’s poem “Lenore” were published. Critics have long seen this
intense publication activity (within just one calendar year) as both remarkable
and difficult to explain. The article examines the factors that made the poem
such an immediate sensation. By analyzing prefaces and reviews related to the
English translations of “Lenore,” it becomes clear that the poem offered
something new: it was a Kunstballade that drew on vernacular poetic
forms and thereby challenged existing verse genres. In order to understand the
popularity of the ballad, the article revisits aspects of the theorist Itamar
Even-Zohar’s polysystem theory, which provides a useful departure for a
discussion of translations as the conduits through which a domestic repertoire
of literary genres can be expanded and renewed. In this connection, it is
important to look at how the various translations were aimed at different
segments of the book market. However, as an innovation, Bürger’s poem was not
universally welcomed. Conservative detractors and, remarkably, some of the
translators themselves baulked at introducing Bürger’s superstitious ballad to
an English reading public insofar as “Lenore” could be seen to contest British
rationality and offend religious sensibilities.

Keywords

Gottfried August Bürger, ballad, translation, romanticism, polysystem theory, book market

1796: Korku Baladı Britanya’ya Geldiğinde

Abstract

1796’da Alman yazar Gottfried August Bürger’in
“Lenore” şiirinin çok sayıda İngilizce çevirisi yayınlandı. Eleştirmenler
(yalnızca bir takvim yılı içerisindeki) bu yoğun yayın etkinliğini hem kayda
değer hem de açıklaması güç buldular. Bu makale, bu şiiri böylesine ani bir
sansasyona dönüştüren etkenleri incelemektedir. “Lenore”un İngilizce
çevirilerine yazılan önsöz ve değerlendirmeler analiz edildiğinde, şiirin yeni
bir şey ortaya koyduğu açığa çıkar: bu şiir, anadilde yazılmış şiir
biçimlerinden beslenen ve böylece yaygın olan nazım türlerine meydan okuyan bir
Kunstballade’dır. Makale, bu baladın popülaritesini kavrayabilmek için,
teorisyen Itamar Even-Zohar’ın, çeviri üzerine tartışmalarda yeni bir çıkış
yolu sağlayan ve bu sayede yerel edebi türler repertuarında yenilenme ve
genişlemeye olanak kılan çoğuldizge kuramının (polysystem theory) bazı
yönlerini yeniden ele almaktadır. Bu bağlantı içinde, çeşitli çevirilerin kitap
piyasasının farklı paydaşlarına nasıl odaklandığına bakmak önem taşır. Öte
yandan, bir yenilik olarak Bürger’in şiiri, evrensel anlamda hoş
karşılanmamıştır. Muhafazakâr muhalifler ve ilginçtir ki, bizatihi bazı
çevirmenler, “Lenore”un İngiliz rasyonelliğine meydan okuyan ve dini
hassasiyetleri rencide eden bir eser olarak algılanabileceğini düşünüp
Bürger’in batıl inançlara dayanan baladını İngiliz okurlara tanıtmaktan
kaçınmışlardır.

Keywords

Gottfried August Bürger, balad, çeviri, Romantisizm, çoğuldizge kuramı

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