| The skopos theory, which came into existence in Germany in1970s, was the most influential and significant part of the functionalist translation theory. It breaks the fetters of traditional translation criterion——equivalence between source language text and target language text. The skopos theory puts its focus on the purpose of the translated work which finally determines what translation methods or strategies a translator might adopt to produce an ideal effect functionally needed. To evaluate a translated text is to see whether it has achieved its intended purpose. The skopos theory which plays a positive role in the revolution of translation study has drawn much attention from the scholars. However, some scholars stick to the belief that skopos theory, as a matter of fact, is only applicable to pragmatic texts, such as advertisements, subtitles, brochures, etc. They cast doubt upon the feasibility of skopos theory in translation of literary works which are regarded to have very complex style and no concrete purpose.This paper aims at a study of rationality and feasibility of skopos theory applied to translation of literary works. The author first gives a detailed introduction to skopos theory, including its definition, development and basic concepts, etc. Then, the author conducts a descriptive analysis of how skopos theory is applied in Zhang Guruo’s translated work Tess of the d’Urbervilles. The thesis focuses on exploring the artistic features of language of the novel, Zhang Guruo’s thoughts and purpose on his translation of the novel, Zhang Guruo’s translation methods and strategies and a discussion on whether Zhang Guruo’s translation has achieved his intended purpose. Through a series of study, the author comes to the conclusion that Zhang Guruo’s translation is adequate from the perspective of skopos theory. Based on this, the author believes that skopos theory is also applicable to literary translation. What’s more, this feasibility does not equal translator’s arbitrariness in doing translation. It can not by any means be considered as a theoretical basis for any translator to distort the intention of SL writer. |
