[Hölderlin and the question of writing in ancient metrical forms: aspects of his translation in Brazil]

Abstract

After a brief introduction of Hölderlin and his poetry, the article inquires into translations of his poems in Brazil. It focuses on metric forms, given the importance they have to characterization and comprehension of lyric genres in which the author writes, as odes and elegy. The analysis takes into consideration differences between the systems of versification (Verssysteme) (Kayser 1964: 82-85) of both the source and the target language. The article was built in part upon ideas of J. A. Oliva Neto (2017; 2020) and his suggestions of equivalencies between metric forms in the source text and its translation. Also, reflections on and practices of translation conceived in Brazil in the field of Classic Studies play a key role for the analysis, by adding a third element of comparison, since both ancient Greek and Latin use another system of versification, different from both Portuguese and German. The selection of the translated poems Hölderlin’s for analysis was based on their circulation and publication together with other works of the author. This was considered important for the perception of recurrences of forms by the readers. The analyzes show that no systematic correspondences in the use of metric forms can be found in the translations, even though possibilities in this direction are being discussed and proposed in an incipient manner.

Keywords:
Höderlin; Translation; Comparative metric; Ode; Elegy