Translations of Joseph Brodsky's Poem “May 24, 1980” into English and Latvian: Cross-linguistic, Cross-cultural and Interpretative Components of Text Analysis

Abstract

Abstract The paper is aimed at presenting an insight into a specific poetry translation model for poetry translation assessment and, in a broader context, for a poetry translation theory for a practical analysis of the English and Latvian translations of the poem “May 24, 1980” written by Joseph Brodsky. The theoretical setting of this model is briefly explained and nine theoretical principles of poetry translation are presented. The paper shows that the cross-linguistic, cross-cultural and interpretative components form an indispensable unity; the proposed principles are both theoretically relevant and applicable in poetry translation practice.