Does Poetry Get Lost in Translation: Stylistic Challenges in Translating Anka Žagar

Abstract

Translating poetry requires special effort due to the complex nature of language, which in poetry functions not only as a medium for conveying meaning but also as an artistic tool. This is particularly true in poetic translation, where style, as a reflection of the deep mechanisms of the poem, becomes a crucial element that can shape the effect on the target language reader. However, in the philological world, stylistics and translation studies have rarely been directly linked. This paper offers a new perspective on the paradoxical relationship between these two entirely complementary philological disciplines by questioning the (un)translatability of poetry as such. By exploring the stylistic challenges in translating the poetry of Croatian poet Anka Žagar, a possible model of stylistic analysis for poetic translation is developed, which may assist stylists, translators, and literary theorists in translating poetic texts or conducting critical analyses of them.