The Waste Land of T. S. Eliot in Two Czech Translations Cover Image

Pustá země T. S. Eliota ve dvou českých překladech
The Waste Land of T. S. Eliot in Two Czech Translations

Author(s): Petr Eliáš
Subject(s): Language and Literature Studies
Published by: Univerzita Karlova v Praze, Nakladatelství Karolinum
Keywords: Waste Land; Pustá země; T. S. Eliot; Jiřina Hauková; Jiří Kolář; Skupina 42; překlad poezie

Summary/Abstract: The article analyses two Czech translations of T. S. Eliot’s The Waste Land, both by members of the Group 42. Jiřina Hauková and Jindřich Chalupecký were the first to translate a complete text, including author’s notes. Jiří Kolář and Jiří Kotalík translated the fifth part of the poem. After a brief introduction describing the genesis of the original text and listing the existing Czech translations, the article analyses both translations separately, as well as in comparison, considering all the relevant criteria. Through a detailed analysis of the poetic devices used by Eliot and his translators, the article delivers a complex description of the methods used by respective translators showing that Hauková and Chalupecký emphasize meaning to the detriment of sound, the translation lacking rhythm and rhymes. The version by Kolář and Kotalík is much more condensed, rhythmical, and more accomplished.

  • Issue Year: 2021
  • Issue No: 2
  • Page Range: 25-38
  • Page Count: 14
  • Language: Czech