The main challenges in translating poetry: the example of student translations of Ugo Foscolo’s sonnet “Alla sera”
Keywords
Ugo Foscolo, poetry translation, Italian-Polish translation, translation teachingAbstract
The present article analyses the main challenges that can be encountered in translating poetry, using as an example student translations of the famous sonnet “Alla sera” by Ugo Foscolo. Through a comparative analysis of student translations, the most common difficulties are identified, including the rendering of metrics and rhymes, the preservation of rhetorical figures, the transmission of emotional tone and fidelity to the original meaning, but also all the challenges arising from the specificity of the Italian and Polish languages. The article explores how these difficulties manifest themselves in student translations and discusses their possible reasons. Finally, the article highlights the importance of poetry translation as a pedagogical tool for developing translation skills, linguistic sensitivity and intercultural understanding.
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