A Contrastive Study on Translations of Li Qingzhao's Ru Meng Ling: From the Perspective of Subjectivity and Subjectification

Liang Deng, Lan Ma
2015 International Journal of English Linguistics  
<p>Poetry is quite personal in the sense that it is mainly written for the expression of the poets' personal emotions, feelings, attitudes, point of views, etc. Therefore, it is endowed with strong subjectivity. Poets resort to different linguistic devices to realize their subjectivity in their poetry, which is termed as subjectification. Consequently, poets' subjectivity constitutes an essential part of the meaning of their poetry. Thus, in the translation of poetry, it is vital for the
more » ... tor to reconstruct the poets' subjectivity. This paper attempts to conduct a contrast of thirteen English versions of Ru Meng Ling by Li Qingzhao from the perspective of subjectivity and subjectification. It will first make an analysis of Li Qingzhao's subjectivity and subjectification in her Ru Meng Ling from the three dimensions, perspective, affect and epistemic modality. Then, a contrast is provided among the thirteen English versions. It is found that it is difficult to achieve a complete equivalence of subjectification due to the translators' subjectivity in their translation. However, a good translator attempts to eschew his/her own subjectivity and reconstruct the poet's subjectivity as much as possible.</p>
doi:10.5539/ijel.v5n6p128 fatcat:dp6la36jkje3fczwxx5hv65ubq