THE MAGIC OF DYLAN THOMAS' POETIC SYMPHONIES AND TRANSLATION-ORCHESTRATING
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17721/if.54.23.9Keywords:
versification and content-thematic structure, poem-metaphor, antithetical images and concepts, alliteration, assonance, and dissonanceAbstract
Background.The article focuses on the poetic structure of three poems by the Welsh-English-speaking poet Dylan Thomas and the possibility of their reproduction in Ukrainian verse translation.
Methods.The melody of Thomas's poems "Clown and The Moon", "Light Breaks Where No Sun Shines", and "The Conversation of Prayer" is analyzed in detail. Thanks to the skillful construction, these works have a distinct, unique mood atmosphere.
Results. The author of the article self-analyzes her own translation of these outstanding poems of Thomas, written in different periods, the Ukrainian renditions of which have not yet been published for the general public. All three analyzed poems, like Thomas' works in general, are united by the theme of love, struggle for light and the great gift of life symbolized by it. The line-by-line strophic analysis of the selected poems reveals not only the complex rhythmic-sound construction of these works, but also the multifaceted content-thematic structure. Each of the analyzed poems-metaphors is interpreted and, accordingly, translated in the inseparable unity of its two plans: spiritual-ideal and sensual-material, adhering to the versification structure of the original works.
Conclusion.The discussion in the article proves that their symbolism is built on the interweaving and interaction of antithetical images and concepts. This symbolism relies on sound echoes, which cannot all be translated in each and every detail. The sound reverberation in Thomas's poems is far from being exhausted by rhymes (inline alliteration, assonances and dissonances are also added to them). The vital energy of Thomas's poetic language, capable of raising the human spirit to cosmic heights, affirms the value of life even in moments of sadness, because in life there is human warmth, care for loved ones, the light of hope and love. Deeply traumatized and unprotected from the barrage of negative information, the consciousness of our contemporaries today needs therapy with the works of Dylan Thomas more than the contemporaries of the poet himself needed it.
References
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