Comparative specificity of the original and translations of W. E. Henley's poem “Invictus”

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to identify the similarities and differences between the original and translations of W. E. Henley's poem “Invictus” from English into Russian in graphic, discursive, phonetic and linguistic forms, including semantic equivalence and poetic communication with the reader. The scientific novelty lies in the identification of the comparative specificity of the original and two translations of the above-mentioned work, performed by D. Magula and M. Shengaut. As a result of the study, it was found that in graphic, discursive and phonetic forms, the original and the translations, despite some differences, largely coincide. There are significant differences in the linguistic form at the morphological level, for example, in the usage of parts of speech. Word formation is almost identical in nature in all poems. The syntax of the translated versions is somewhat similar to that of the original text. At the lexical level, both similarities and differences were found in the vocabulary used. These words mostly correspond to the original text in terms of meaning. Generally speaking, the idea of the lyrical hero's strength is preserved in both translations. The emotional message is almost the same as in the original, which suggests that all authors have successfully communicated their poetry to the reader.