Wieland's Revival of Horace

In eighteenth-century Germany there arose a tremendous enthusiasm for translating, particularly from texts written in the Classical languages. Translation theorists in this period outline two possible methods: either the emphasis lies with the ancient source or with the modem idiom. Christoph Martin...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of the classical tradition 1996-10, Vol.3 (2), p.171-184
Main Author: Curran, Jane V.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Apostolic letters
Hexameter
Idioms
Language translation
Pentameter
Poetic meter
Poetry
Satire
Statues
Syntactics
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Summary:In eighteenth-century Germany there arose a tremendous enthusiasm for translating, particularly from texts written in the Classical languages. Translation theorists in this period outline two possible methods: either the emphasis lies with the ancient source or with the modem idiom. Christoph Martin Wieland (1733-1813) translated the Epistles (1782) and Satires (1786) of Horace into lively verse in a loose iambic pentameter scheme. The translations, with their accompanying introductions and commentaries, display Wieland's expertise as a Classical scholar and his skill as a poet. By contrast, in the Horace translations of Johann Heinrich Voß (1751-1826), too strict an adherence to the metrical and syntactical features of the original produces an unnatural German style. Johann Christoph Gottsched (1700-1766) translated Horace's Ars Poetica as a preface to his own treatise on poetry, Versuch einer critischen Dichtkunst (1730). Gottsched's allegiance lies with contemporary literary style; he translates freely, using rhyming Alexandrines. Wieland's method, a mean between these two extremes, provides the most faithful reproduction of the Roman poet.
ISSN:1073-0508
1874-6292
DOI:10.1007/BF02677914