Literary Translation Of S.T. Coleridge’s Poem “ Kubla Khan” Using Free Verse Form

Abstract

Those who translate know well that translating literature, particularly

poetry, is a complex process. Thus, this paper explores the specialty of translating

poetry because this type of translation needs, in my opinion, a unique

translator--a poet. Translating poetry into poetry is a skill that requires the

same level and degree of creativity as writing a poem, complete with its new

system of sounds and rhythm. A poet-translator is an artist who reveals his

emotions and ideas and, at the same time, he needs to strike a balance between

his desire to produce a translation that is poetry and his faithfulness to the

original text in the source language. Consequently, despite his faithfulness,

there are gains achieved by the poet-translator through his creation of fresh

and striking images in the target language. As an example, the poem “Kubla

Khan” by Samuel Taylor Coleridge is included at the end of the paper, followed

by my two literary translations of this poem using the traditional form

and the free verse form, respectively.