Literatur | Philosophie | Sprache
Franziska Altenbach, 2005 | Riehen, BS
The translation of poetry, especially from Ancient Greek, is a complex process which can be affected by linguistic differences between Greek and English, textual fragmentation and cultural biases. Queer poetry faces additional challenges, as it is also affected by the prejudices of the translators and their audience. Sappho, a renowned lyric poet from Ancient Greece, gained fame for her songs about love—particularly between women—despite the limited freedoms and literacy of women in her time. Her poetry is a key example of how reception influences the transmission and interpretation of queer poetry. While the impact of Sappho’s reception on her legacy in different eras has been extensively discussed in the literature, I investigated whether the fictionalization of her identity had a discernible influence on the translation of her poetry.
Introduction
In this essay I examined how Sappho’s fictional persona in Ovid’s Heroides XV influenced the English translation of Fragment 31 by John Hall in 1652 and Ambrose Philips in 1711.
Methods
I investigated the influence of fictionalization on translation by analyzing parallels of interpretation between Ovid’s Heroides VX and two of the oldest English translations of Sappho’s Fragment 31. Additionally, contemporary academic literature about reception, transmission and translation theory was consulted. Moreover, I had the remarkable opportunity to speak with Professor Diane Rayor about the challenges that scholars face when translating Sappho. This research and analysis were used to highlight recurring tropes of interpretation and (mis)translation, and to discuss the extent to which these early English translations of Sappho’s work were influenced by the fictionalization of her identity.
Results
In my analysis I discovered important parallels between the fictional identity of Sappho created by Ovid in Heroides XV and alterations made by translators in early versions of Fragment 31, one of Sappho’s most well-known and well-preserved poems. In Heroides XV, Ovid employs the strategy of narrativization to combine the existing stories about Sappho into one comprehensible and socially palatable chronology. In doing so, he introduced three themes that became integral to her fictional persona: her silence, the erasure of her sexuality, and her suicide. Close analysis of the early English translations of Sappho’s Fragment 31 – a poem originally describing the relationship between two women – shows that the translators made alterations in their translations that incorporate these three themes into the poem.
Discussion
The analysis of the Heroides XV and the translations by John Hall and Ambrose Philips demonstrate a distinct influence of Sappho’s fictionalized persona on the translations of her work. This can specifically be seen in the incorporation of the themes of silence, sexuality and suicide. However, the process of translation is extremely complex and subject to a multitude of influences. Other possible circumstances that may have influenced the translations include the general societal attitude towards women writing about their relationships with other women (both in Ancient Rome and Early Modern England), the context in which the poems were transmitted, and the linguistic differences between the languages.
A more extensive review of the existing literature may have aided the discussion of the effect of other fictionalizations of Sappho that emerged later, and whether these had similar influences on the translations at the time. This was unfortunately outside the scope of this essay but may be interesting for further research.
Conclusions
Through my analysis of these translations as well as contemporary scholarship on the reception and translation of queer poetry, I discovered significant parallels of fictionalization between Ovid’s Heroides XV and the early English translations of Sappho’s Fragment 31. Specifically, this includes the trope of a voice that is silenced through abandonment, the erasure of the homoerotic themes of Sappho’s poems, and the prevailing myth of her suicide. These alterations of the original poem in the translations work to shape Fragment 31 into a narrative that aligns with the themes of Heroides XV. This supports the conclusion that Ovid’s fictional narrative had a profound influence on the reception of Sappho and the translation of her poetry in Early Modern England. It further demonstrates that this influence led to specific and significant alterations, which obscured the content of the original poem.
Würdigung durch die Expertin
Dr. Emily Louisa Smith
This work represents an innovative, perceptive, and critically informed re-examination of Sappho’s posthumous construction. Close reading of sources surrounding the poet’s biographical fictionalisation in Ovid is matched by a close reading of two early modern English translations of Fragment 31 detailing their most significant interpretative choices and consequent impact upon how these translations present Sappho and her love. Attentiveness to historical detail and engagement with scholarship throughout is of an impressive level and wide-ranging scope, with independence of thought and analytical flair.
Prädikat:
sehr gut
Gymnasium Bäumlihof, Basel
Lehrer: Dr. Albert M. Debrunner