Imagery in Translation
stood before my pistol, picking out the ripe cherries and spitting out the stones, which flew to where I was standing. His equanimity maddened me. 'What would be the use,' it occurred to me, 'to deprive him of life when he does not treasure it in the least?' A malicious thought flashed through my mind. I lowered my pistol.
'"You apparently have other things on your mind outside of death,' I said to him. 'It pleases you to be breaking your fast; I have no wish to interfere with you.'
'"You are not interfering with me in the least,' he retorted. 'You may shoot, if you like; however, please yourself; you may keep back the shot — I am always at your service.'
"I turned to the seconds, informing them that I had no intention of shooting just then, and with that the duel was over.
"I resigned from the army and withdrew to this little town. Since then not a day has passed without my thinking of revenge. Now my hour has come..."
EXERCISES FOR COMPARISON
• Read all three texts thoroughly, noting differences that
jump to your attention.
• Read the texts aloud to feel difference in rhythm.
• Study the difference in the vocabulary, choice of words
and their comparative conceptual force. Note down the most strik
ing differences a) between the Russian and English texts, and b)
between the two English texts. Comment on the changes.
• Study the difference in syntactic structures of the texts
and comment on how the changes influence the rhythm of the
narrative.
• Study the style of the source text to compare it with the
two translated variants. Identify connection between changes in
style and shifts in mood and imagery.
• Analyse the two English texts from the point of view of
Практикум по художественному переводу
cultural nuances developed in the translation made by the Russian native speaker and by the American one.
• Discuss the result of the comparative study.