Beyond the literal and the figurative: Translation of metaphors in surrealist poetry and postmodern fiction
Beyond the literal and the figurative: Translation of metaphors in surrealist poetry and postmodern fiction

Author(s): Łukasz Barciński
Subject(s): Theoretical Linguistics
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Śląskiego
Keywords: metaphor; literary translation; conceptual blending;literalism;
Summary/Abstract: The study analyzes the concept of metaphor as applied for the purpose of translation analysis of literary works. The discussion will cover a wide range of approaches to metaphor (Ricoeur, Lakoff and Johnson, Derrida). Then, the study will utilize the cognitive approach to metaphor and the concept of conceptual blending, inspired by the research on cognitive poetics by Peter Stockwell. The article also deals with poststructuralist approaches to meaning and interpretation by applying Jacques Derrida’s term undecidables. Finally, the theoretical introduction will present contemporary advancements within Translation Studies related to the focus on literality: Philip Lewis’s abusive fidelity, Douglas Robinson’s neoliteralism, Antoine Berman’s negative analytic, and Lawrence Venuti’s foreignization. Next, the study offers a translation analysis of English surrealist poetry (David Gascoyne) and American postmodern fiction (Thomas Pynchon) in Polish translation, with special emphasis on the literal/figurative distinction and the possibility of transcending this duality.

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