Trying not to get Paradise Lost in Translation

Abstract

The author of a recently published translation of Milton's Paradise Lost into Slovak here gives an account of his approach. His version is in a form of blank verse and has a line count matching Milton's, whereas other Slavic translators (Czech, Polish, Russian) tend towards expansion both in line length and overall line-count. Structural differences between English and Slovak, and the different ‘semantic density’ of the languages, do not, it is argued, preclude the attempt. The core concern is how to construct iambic pentameters while also preserving Milton's meanings in a language to which blank verse does not come easily. Milton's language and the translator's handling of Milton's biblical references are more briefly considered.