Creative Treason In Translation Of Emily Dickson’s Poems

Traditional translation theory holds that translators should be attached to the original writer, and be absolutely invisible during the transformation activity of the two languages; while Medio-translatology puts forward that translators are not doing a sheer plain technical language switch but a creative job, making it possible for the work maintain its artistic charm after the cross-time, cross-language, and cross-nation activity. The study of "creative treason" in literary translation theoretically affirms the value of translators" recreation.The theory of creative treason holds that "translation is one type of creative treason" and treason in translation attributes to the source text being brought into a completely unpredictable reference (language) system, while creation in translation attributes to translation providing a new outlook for the source text, making it possible to communicate with a wider range of readers. Creative treason not only accords with the trend of "cultural turn" in translation studies, but also establishes an open translation theory that brings life to the translation studies and broadens its horizon. The creative treason of literary translation is particularly evident in poetry translation, owing to its unique genre of literature with the combination of highly refined literary form and affluent content, leaving the translator at a dilemma to conduct translation-In order to preserve the content, then the form will be ruined, and vice versa.This thesis examines Jiang Feng’s translation of Emily Dickson’s poems with the new angle of creative treason. Since the mid-1980s, several Chinese translations of Dickinson’s poetry have been published, among which Jiang Feng’s translation comes the very first, reprints most, and has the widest influence, with the most editions and circulations. The quality of his translation runs a good reputation both among common readers and translation scholars. This thesis attempts to explore creative treason embodied in Dickson’s poetry translation, elucidates the concept of creative treason, and analyzes the subjectivity of the translator, thus gets the conclusion of the employment of "creative treason" in poetry translation making its rebirth in the target language cultural environment.The translation of Dickinson’s poems demonstrates "the more unique in style and the more unfamiliar in content of the source text, the more easily it leads to creative treason/This thesis probes into creative treason in Jiang Feng’s translation of Emily Dickson’s poems from the aspects of Ezra Pound’s concept of "three kinds of poetry", i.e. phanopoeia, melopoeia, and logopoeia, and then analyses the reasons and strategies for its creative treason in order to further look into the success of Jiang Feng’s translation, and in the meantime provides reference for the further translation of Dickson’s poems that remain to be translated.