|Generate QR code
Open Access
Subscription Access
Two Forest Kings? Literary sources of V. Zhukovsky’s translation of the ballad Erlkönig
https://doi.org/10.31425/0042-8795-2020-4-217-238
Abstract
The article contains a comparative analysis of early European interpretations of Goethe’s poem Erlkönig and hypothesizes that it was under their influence that Zhukovsky introduced significant innovations in his translation. Already in the first English translations by M. G. Lewis and W. Scott, translators dispense with the naturphilosophical implication of Goethe’s original and enhance its folkloric dimension; the plot is structured according to the pre-romantic and romantic folk legends of evil and many-voiced forest ‘kings.’ The early French versions embark on a new tradition of ‘translating’ the title into the native language, revealing the semiotics of the image and making it more recognizable by a foreign culture. Zhukovsky’s idea of the Forest King is shaped by his contemporary culture; he integrates the German original not only into Russian demonology as described by Russian lexicons of the early 19th c., but also into the set of translation practices already established at the time when he was writing his ballad.
About the Author
I. N. Lagutina
National Research University Higher School of Economics
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Irina N. Lagutina Doctor of Philology
20 Myasnitskaya St., Moscow, 101000
References
1. Bowring, E. A. (1853). The poems of Goethe, tr. in the original metres, with a sketch of Goethe’s life by E. A. Bowring. London: John W. Parker and son West Strand.
2. Burvikova, N. (2007). Goethe’s ‘Erlkönig’: the translation problem. In: G. Yakusheva, ed., Goethe readings 2004-2006. Moscow: Nauka, pp. 154-158. (In Russ.)
3. Chulkov, M. (1786). ABCD of Russian superstitions, idolatrous sacrifices, wedding rituals, witchcraft, shamanism and so on. Moscow: Tip. F. Gippiusa. (In Russ.)
4. Davis, E. Z. (1905). Translations of German poetry in American magazines 1741-1810. Philadelphia: Americana Germanica Press.
5. Dolgikh, Y. (2016). Forest and water spirits: Demonological characters in Russian literary stories of the 1810s – 1830s. Russkaya Literatura, 3, pp. 149-165. (In Russ.)
6. Drozdov, N. (2017). English literature in Russia in the first quarter of the 19th century. In: В. Bagno, P. Zaborov et al., eds., From the history of Russian translation of fiction in the first quarter of the 19th century: Collected papers and materials. St. Petersburg: Nestor-Istoriya, pp. 381-442. (In Russ.)
7. Dyrsen, P. (1878). Goethe’s poems. New York: F. W. Christern.
8. Emerson, O. F. (1924). The early literary life of Sir Walter Scott. The Journal of English and Germanic Philology, 1, pp. 28-62.
9. Géraud, E. (1818). De quelques élégies et de quelques ballades allemandes. La Ruche d’Aquitaine, Mars, pp. 353-368. (In French).
10. Glinka, G. (1804). The ancient religion of the Slavs. Mitau: V tip. u I. F. Shtefengagena i syna. (In Russ.)
11. Grimm, J. and Grimm, W. (1862). Deutsches Wörterbuch von 33 Bände. Bd. 3. Leipzig: S. Hirzel Verlag. (In German).
12. Grimm, J. and Grimm, W. (1956). Deutsches Wörterbuch von 33 Bände. Bd. 15. Leipzig: S. Hirzel Verlag. (In German).
13. Herder, J. G. (1779). Erlkönigs Tochter. In: Volkslieder. Zweiter Teil. Leipzig: Weygand, pp. 158-160. (In German).
14. Kaysarov, A. (1810). Slavic and Russian mythology. Moscow: V tip. Dubrovina i Merzlyakova. (In Russ.)
15. Kursanov, G. and Gulyga, A., eds. (1964). Selected philosophical works of J. W. Goethe. Translated from German. Moscow: Nauka. (In Russ.)
16. Kurz, H., ed. (1974). Werke von J. W. Goethe von 12 Bände. Bd. 11. Berlin, Weimar: Aufbau Verlag. (In German).
17. Latouche, H. de. (1818). Le Roi des Aulnes: élégie. Lettres Champenoises, 2, pp. 147-149. (In French).
18. Lebedeva, О. and Yanushkevich, A., eds. (2004). The complete works and letters of V. Zhukovsky (20 vols). Vol. 13. Moscow: Yaziki russkoy kultury. (In Russ.)
19. Letters from V. A. Zhukovsky to Alexander Ivanovich Turgenev. (1895). Moscow: Izdatelstvo ‘Russkogo Arkhiva’, based on original texts from Imperial Public Library. (In Russ.)
20. Levin, Y. (1985). V. A. Zhukovsky and the issue of translated poetry. In: Y. Levin, Russian translators of the 19th century and the development of literary translation. Leningrad: Nauka, pp. 8-26. (In Russ.)
21. <Lewis, M. G.> (1797). Le moine un 3 tomes. Т. 3. Paris: Chez Maradan. (In French).
22. Lewis, M. G. (1798). Ambrosio, or The monk: A romance in 3 vols. Vol. 3. London: J. Davis.
23. Lewis. M. G. (1801). Tales of Wonder in 2 vols. Vol. 1. London: W. Bulmer and Co.
24. Lobanov, V., ed. (1981). V. A. Zhukovsky library (Description). Tomsk: Tomskiy universitet. (In Russ.)
25. Marova, E. (2012). Goethe’s ‘Erlkönig’ and its Russian translations. Trudy Obyedinyonnogo Nauchnogo Soveta Po Gumanitarnym Problemam I Istoriko-kulturnomu Naslediyu, 2011, pp. 131-139. (In Russ.)
26. Meyer, J., ed. (1847). Das große Conversations-Lexicon für die gebildeten Stände. In Verbindung mit Staatsmännern, Gelehrten, Künstlern und Technikern von 46 Bände. Bd. 9. Hildburghausen: Verlag des Bibliographischen Instituts. (In German).
27. Nikonova, N. (2018). German works and self-translations by V. A. Zhukovsky in Russian literature and editorial practice. In: N. Nikonova, ed., Collection of German works and self-translations by V. A. Zhukovsky. Tomsk: Tomskiy universitet, pp. 4-24. (In Russ.)
28. Palievsky, P. (2004). Russian Erlking. Goethe and Pushkin. In: I. Lagutina, ed., Goethe: Personality and culture. Moscow: Indrik, pp. 20-42. (In Russ.)
29. Panckoucke, E., ed. (1825). Poésies de Goethe, auteur de Werther. Paris: C. I. F. Panckoucke Éditeur. (In French).
30. Rutherford, B. (2010). Introduction. In: B. Rutherford, ed., Tales of Wonder by M. G. Lewis. Yogh and Thorn Edition: Providence, pp. VII-IX.
31. Schröder, B. (2002). Die Erlkönigin. Telepolis, [online] 9 June. Available at: https://www.heise.de/tp/features/Die-Erlkoenigin-3425545.html [Accessed 17 Mar. 2020]. (In German).
32. <Scott, W.> (1799). An apology for Tales of Terror. [online] Walterscott.lib. ed.ac.uk. Available at: www.walterscott.lib.ed.ac.uk/works/poetry/apology/contents.html [Accessed 17 Mar. 2020].
33. Scott, W. (1802). The Erl-King. The Scots Magazine, LXIV, pp. 72-73.
34. Scott, W. (1841). The poetical works. [online] Literaryballadarchive.com. Available at: http://literaryballadarchive.com/PDF/Scott_8_Erl-King_f.pdf [Accessed 17 Mar. 2020].
35. Stapfer, P. (1825). Notice sur Goethe sur la vie et les ouvrages de Goethe. In: Œuvres dramatiques de J. W. Goethe traduites de l’Allemand en 4 vols. Vol. 1. Paris: Chez A. Sautelet et Cie, Libraires-éditeurs, pp. 1-184. (In French).
36. Tsvetaeva, M. (1933). Two ‘Erlkings’. [online] Tsvetayeva.com. Available at: http://www.tsvetayeva.com/prose/pr_dwa_lesnyh_carya [Accessed 10 Mar. 2020]. (In Russ.)
37. Vanhese, G. (1999). Erlkönig de Goethe et ses traducteurs français. Romantisme, 106: raduire au XIX-e siècle, pp. 109-118. (In French).
38. Vlasova, M. (2008). Encyclopaedia of Russian superstitions. Moscow: Azbuka. (In Russ.)
39. Witte, B. and Otto, R., eds. (1996). Goethe-Handbuch von 4 Bände. Bd. 1. Stuttgart, Weimar: J. B. Metzler. (In German).
40. Zhukovsky, V. (1900). Letter to A. N. Karamzin, dtd. 8 Nov. 1817. Russkiy Arkhiv, 9, pp. 38-39. (In Russ.)
Review
For citations:
Lagutina I.N. Two Forest Kings? Literary sources of V. Zhukovsky’s translation of the ballad Erlkönig. Voprosy literatury. 2020;(4):217-238. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.31425/0042-8795-2020-4-217-238
Views:
706
Email this article 
