R. M. Rilke Sonnets in Ukrainian Poets Reception

Abstract

The article deals with the receptions and translation interpretations of R. M. Rilke's poetry by famous Ukrainian poets (M. Bazhan, M. Lukash and V. Stus), which allow us to understand the originality and uniqueness of the art universes of Austrian and Ukrainian artists. Important scientific tasks include comparative analysis of translations, which creates the foundations for translation theory. The purpose of the article is to study the ideological and thematic originality of R. M. Rilke's sonnet “A tree climbed there” and a comparative analysis of its translations into Ukrainian. The purpose is realized in the following tasks: to investigate the artistic paradigm of the work, to identify key concepts, to carry out a comparative analysis of literary translations by M. Bazhan, M. Lukash and V. Stus. The study is relevant in light of the development of comparative literature, theory and practice of literary translation. The analysis of the translations of Rilke's sonnet by three famous poets and translators leads to the conclusion that the adequacy and expressiveness of the translation adheres to three principles: understanding the author's intention, understanding the stylistic features of the original text and impeccable mastery of artistic language. Rilke's basic concept of “silence” is preserved in all three translation versions. However, the rest of the textual details are different. The accumulation of functional words in the translations of M. Lukash and V. Stus transforms Rilke's “metal” poem, musical and singing, into something difficult to pronounce. Instead, M. Bazhan's version is clear and transparent. The ambiguity and versatility of lexical components included in the semantic constants of concealment (“silence”) and songs (“melody”) give rise to a plurality of translations of one concept, while the maximum approximation to the original text in M. Bazhan's translation becomes possible not so much due to the author's stylistic principles, as much as due to the reproduction of the general sound, tonality, semantic paradigm and appeal to the “artistic experience” of the entire Orphic discourse. In M. Bazhan's version, a very successful game with rhyming homonyms attracts attention. In general, the translator has an impeccable sonnet technique, understands well what Rilke wanted to say and has an unsurpassed sense of the native language.