Studia Filologiczne UJK

Summary

This article offers a comparative perspective on two approaches to translating classical literature as exemplified by British and Polish translators of Molière: Ranjit Bolt and Jerzy Radziwiłowicz. The decision to translate classical works such as Molière’s comedies today can be seen as an almost apologetic undertaking , where , due to the work’s established place within the canon, the translator’s task is also to recompartmentalise the work in the modern context. Bolt makes extensive use of colloquialisms and adapts the work for the British reader, whereas Radziwiłowicz exercises an almost orthodox adherence to the form, structure and language of the original. This paper is to a large extent an attempt to get to the root of this difference in approach and what it says about how translators perceive their role.