"Heinrich von Oftendingen" by Novalis: Translated from the German by Mara Abolins
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Authors
Abolins, Mara
Issue Date
1965-02
Type
Thesis
Language
en_US
Keywords
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Abstract
In translating Heinrich von Ofterdingen, I have felt that my primary
obligation was to Novalis' meaning and that the preservation of his style
must be secondary. I have tried first to render that meaning with precision
and clarity, and then to maintain the power and grace and beauty of the original.
Regrettably, this was not always possible, particularly in those long,
intricate, descriptive passages, so characteristic of Novalis, which could
not be translated into grammatical, coherent English without considerable
rearrangement. Here, and in a number of other cases where I found it impossible
to faithfully translate the German, I have fal1en back on the concept
of "Englishing", retaining Novalis' ideas, but using a free hand in the way
I expressed them. Translating the many songs and poems in Heinrich von
Ofterdingen into English poetry was a task to which my talents were not
equal; instead I have, while keeping the form of line and stanza, made them in effect, into English prose.
Description
iv, 164 p.
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License
U.S. copyright laws protect this material. Commercial use or distribution of this material is not permitted without prior written permission of the copyright holder.