The Book Of Translations As A Unity (On The Material Of F. Sologub'S Translations Of P. Verlaine'S Poems)

The process of translation is subdivided into several stages: reading, selection, translation proper and arrangement. The article considers the completion phase of translation that is aggregating of translated poems into unities - cycles and books. The book of Sologub's translations from Verlaine of 1908 recreates the original collected poems neither in number nor in structure. In translations selected and arranged by Sologub new contextual connections appear that create new semantic unity. Cycle-creating functions belong either to development of themes, motives and images or to compositional and rhythmical-intoning devices. Some parts are not independent and function only at the level of the whole book. Comparing worlds depicted in the original collected poems and in the translated cycles and the book of Sologub one finds out the peculiarities of Sologub's reception of Verlaine's text. Translations reflect characteristic features of Sologub's artistic consciousness. The book of translation of 1908 represents Verlaine as a poet who follows the principle of mystic irony in his art. According to Sologub's concept, mystic irony means acceptance of the world in any manifestations. Irony appears at different levels of the text creating a meta-textual unity. Sologub solves the problem of translation of the poem in an original way creating and simultaneously publishing several versions of translation, which turn out to be parts of a single text. Books of 1908 and 1293 differ both in content and composition. The uniting function belongs to motives but the unity of the book is rather mechanical than organic. It is not the inner development of the theme or plot that unites the book but the factual frame: the book includes all the texts, which appeared in the result of the situation "Verlaine, the poet - Sologub, the translator". In the book of translation of 1923 there are some traces of Russian culture though they appear within the semantic frame of the original text. These traces are mainly of the following three types: vocabulary Russification, semantic move in the system of images and motives, ethical component in the position of the author. Comparing two books of translations from Verlaine one can see that the method of the translator changes. The book of 1908 represents Sologub's myth about the poet and the world. The book of 1923 is an attempt to modify early translations and to reach formal accuracy. Sologub tries to dissociate himself as a poet from his translations. But removing personal marks he involuntarily accentuates national features putting Verlaine into the space of Russian culture.