The echo of Heinrich Heine’s «Bergstimme» in Russian translations of the XXth-XXIst centuries

Abstract

The work is aimed at the comparative analysis of Russian translations of the short poem «Die Bergstimme» by Heinrich Heine. In the article the functions of linguistic means of different levels of expressing the conception of the poem are analyzed; the unique style of each translator is characterized; translators’ accomplishments and losses are pointed out. The first Russian translator of the poem, A.Ya. Kulchitsky, enhances the comic basis of the poem, emphasizing features of sentimentalism and «bestowing knighthood» to the main character. The translation by V.D. Kostomarov is full of despondency and hopelessness; moreover, the translator failed to reproduce the «echo effect». The variant by P.V. Bykov is marked by the influence of decadence and fin de siècle atmosphere. The translations of A.I. Mashistov and V.A. Zorgenfrei are equirythmic; they are characterized by the effective use of phonetic stylistic devices and restrained expression of emotions. R. Minkus overuses disharmonious consonants and exaggerates sorrows of the main character.

Extended abstract:

The work is aimed at the comparative analysis of Russian translations of the short poem «Die Bergstimme» («The Voice of the Mountains») by Heinrich Heine. In the article the functions of linguistic means of different levels are analyzed; the unique style of each translator is characterized; translators’ accomplishments and losses are pointed out. The methods of the investigation are: hermeneutical, comparative methods, elements of biographical, cultural-historical and comparative historical methods, linguostylistic analysis, poetological analysis, «close reading» technique. It was found out that the first Russian translator of the poem, A.Ya. Kulchitsky (1814–1845), enhances the comic basis of the poem, emphasizing features of sentimentalism and «bestowing knighthood» to the main character. While Heinrich Heine employs iambic meter with some insertion of dactylic feet, Kulchitsky refers to the use of trochee, a metre that in Russian poetic culture is associated with merriment and light-heartedness. The translation by V.D. Kostomarov (1837–1865) is full of despondency and hopelessness; moreover, the translator failed to reproduce the «echo effect». The variant by P.V. Bykov (1844–1930) is marked by the influence of decadence and fin de siècle atmosphere. The use of amphibrach makes the poem more monotonous and slow. The translations of A.I. Mashistov (1904–1987) and V.A. Zorgenfrei (1882−1938) are equirythmic; they are characterized by the effective use of phonetic stylistic devices and restrained expression of emotions. The leitmotif of Mashistov’s translation is «dream»: according to the main character, death, as well as dream, brings oblivion and peace to everyone. Zorgenfrei enriches his work with the elements of folklore style, such as lexical and synonymic repetitions, internal rhyme and folklore vocabulary. The variant of R. Minkus (1907−1986)  is very close to the original poem concerning its metre and rhythm. Furthermore, her interpretation is marked with disharmonious consonants and exaggerated sorrows of the main character. In conclusion it was pointed out that for the Russian translators of the XIX century it was quite natural to change freely the metre of the original work; the notion of translation discipline wasn’t thoroughly elaborated at that time. In the XX century more accurate and faithful translation became the new norm.