Application of Text Type Theory in Poetry Translation-- Analysis of Selected Poems of Emily Dickinson Translated by Zhou Jianxin

Abstract

Translation of poetry has always been a difficult problem. Questions like what form to adopt, whether to retain the original structure, how to choose words, etc. have long confused numerous experts and translators. The text type theory proposed by German translation theorist Katrina Rice believes that poetry, a typical expressive type, should be translated as faithfully as possible to the original text, and this theory provides a theoretical basis for translators to choose a better translation strategy. This paper takes The Poems of Emily Dickinson translated by Zhou Jianxin as an example to analyze the application of text type theory in poetry translation. The translation has high faithfulness to the original text, including not only the form and the meaning of the poem, but also its aesthetic features and the personal style of the poet, which is a good sample of the application of text type theory. It provides a reference for subsequent translators to translate poetry, and also shows a practical path for translations of foreign poetry.