Same Feeling, Different Language: On Translating Poetry
Translation has always been a topic people like to argue about. When it comes to translating poetry, these discussions become even more intense. Poetry is closely connected with emotions and feelings. This phenomenon leads to a simple but difficult question: can feelings be translated from one language into another in the same way?
We all know that writing poetry is not as easy as it may seem. Poetry is not just about writing a few lines on paper; it is about saying what is hard to say and feeling the words themselves. Just as writing poetry is difficult, translating it is also challenging. Words are only tools. What is being translated is emotion. That is why poetry translation is often described as a kind of “re-creation.” In this sense, the translator’s job is not to fully understand the poet’s inner world but to rebuild the emotional atmosphere of the poem in another language.
Some people believe that translated poems always lose their original value and become damaged in the process. According to this view, poetry belongs to only one language; it is written, thought, and felt in that language alone. I think this idea comes from a very literal understanding of translation. It assumes that translation means moving words from one language to another without changing anything. If this were the case, important elements of poetry such as rhythm, rhyme, and imagery would indeed disappear. However, translation is not a fully technical process. When emotions are involved, the translator chooses expressions that can reflect those feelings in the best possible way for the target reader.
Another important point is often ignored by those who doubt poetry translation: a poem does not create the same feeling in every reader. This is true even when the poem is read in its original language. Different readers respond differently, and the effect of a poem changes accordingly. For this reason, the varied impact of translated poetry does not make translation impossible. On the contrary, it shows that the translator is addressing a new group of readers in a new language. Of course, translated poems may not always be as powerful as the originals, but this mostly depends on the way they are translated.
Translators use different strategies when translating poetry in order to convey meaning, emotion, and form in the target language. Sometimes they focus on meaning and try to transfer images and metaphors as closely as possible. At other times, they choose a more flexible approach and focus on creating a similar emotional effect on the reader. While some translators try to keep the original rhythm and rhyme, others prefer a freer style and aim to recreate the general mood of the poem. In cases where cultural references do not work in the target language, translators may adapt them to help the reader connect with the poem. All these strategies aim not to copy the poem word for word but to keep its spirit alive in another language.
To illustrate this, we can take a look at Shakespeare’s Sonnet 66 and its Turkish translation by Can Yücel:
“Tir’d with all these, for restful death I cry,
As, to behold desert a beggar born,
And needy nothing trimm’d in jollity,
And purest faith unhappily forsworn,
And gilded honour shamefully misplac’d,”
While translating this part into Turkish, Can Yücel tries to preserve the general mood of the poem. In his translation, the same section appears as follows:
“Vazgeçtim bu dünyadan tek ölüm paklar beni,
Değmez bu yangın yeri, avuç açmaya değmez.
Değil mi ki çiğnenmiş inancın en seçkini,
Değil mi ki yoksullar mutluluktan habersiz,
Değil mi ki ayaklar altında insan onuru,”
In this translation, Can Yücel does not completely change the structure of the original poem. The complaining tone is still present in Turkish. However, instead of translating the words one by one, he chooses expressions that fit the natural flow of Turkish. Because of this, the emotion of the poem feels stronger. From this example, we can see that poetry translations can be just as powerful and impressive as the original poems.
In conclusion, the common belief that poetry cannot be translated comes from a limited understanding of what translation is. Poetry translation does not have to be a weak version of the original. With careful choices, it can create its own impact in a different language. For this reason, poetry translation should be seen not as a loss but as a creative process that allows poetry to exist in more than one language.
References
- Shakespeare, W. (n.d.). Sonnet 66. Farmaupdate. https://sub1.farmaupdate.com/siir/w/william_shakespeare/66sone.htm
- Shakespeare, W. (n.d.). Sonnet 66: “Tir’d with all these, for restful death I cry.” Poetry Foundation. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45097/sonnet-66-tird-with-all-these-for restful-death-i-cry
Visual References
- Freepik. (n.d.). Bir kitabın sayfaları arasında harflerin olduğu tahta zar [Photograph]. Freepik. https://tr.freepik.com/ucretsiz-fotograf/bir-kitabin-sayfalari-arasinda-harflerin-oldugu-tahta zar_17182417.htm
- Freepik. (n.d.). Masadaki kitaplarla kompozisyon [Photograph]. Freepik. https://tr.freepik.com/ucretsiz-fotograf/masadaki-kitaplarla-kompozisyon_20989662.html
AI Use
- AI tools were used for language editing purposes.
