7月10日
New Translation of War and Peace Gives New Insights
Anthony Briggs has given the world a new translation of Leo Tolstoy’s famous novel, War and Pease. In the eighth English translation, “… without drifting too far away from the original, he has aimed for the kind of English that would have occurred naturally in its context and now sounds appropriate”
To get a handle on Tolstoy’s War and Peace, it’s important to read it at just the right tempo. The book is long-1,358 pages in Anthony Briggs’ new and eminently fluent translation-so it’s best taken at an amble. Go any faster and you’re likely to miss what it’s all about.
Of course you can’t possibly overlook something as large-scale as Napoleon’s ill-fated invasion of Russia. Yet the war is simply a backdrop. Only about a third of the book is taken up with battle scenes, and even those are largely composed of what War and Peace is really about: the little things that give life its savor and depth.
Consider the scene at Austerlitz, when Prince Andrey Bolkonsky is wounded:
“He opened his eyes. … Above him was nothing, nothing but the sky-the lofty sky. … ‘It’s so quiet, peaceful and solemn, not like me rushing about,’ thought Prince Andrey. ‘How can it be that I’ve never seen that lofty sky before?”
About the novel
Tolstoy cuts a large swath of time-15 years, from 1805 to 1820-and fills it with hundreds of people whose actions and interactions he depicts in vividly precise detail. Notice I said “people.” They’re characters, of course, but Tolstoy imagines them so fully-Nikolay Rostov, for instance, distracts himself on the way to battle by “stripping the leaves from twigs that came to hand”-that they come to seem almost more real than actual individuals.
War and Peace has been called the greatest novel in any language. It’s actually three books for the price of one: a novel about three books for the price of one: a novel about Russian society during the early years of Czar Alexander I’s reign, a chronicle of the Napoleonic invasion, and a set of essays outlining a philosophy of history.
Specialized Terms
Napoleonic (adj) 拿破仑的 of or relating to Napoleon Bonaparte
Vocabulary Focus
Get a handle on (idiom) to achieve an understanding of
Tempo (n) speed or rhythm of a piece of music 乐曲的速度或拍子
Eminently (adv) in an outstanding or distinguished manner
Amble (n) slow, leisurely pace 漫步
Ill-fated (adj) unlucky and unsuccessful, often resulting in death
Backdrop (n) 背景
Take up (v) to fill an amount of space or time
Savor (n) interest and enjoyment
Swath (n) a row or line of grass, corn, etc. as it falls when mown or reaped
Depict (v) describe (sth) in words
Precise (adj) stated clearly and accurately
Reign (n) (period of) rule of a king or queen
Discussion Question
Someone said translation is a sort of creation, not only rewrite of the original story in another language. Do you agree? Why or why not?
Extra Exercise
1. Translate the following sentence into Chinese, ‘Of course you can’t possibly overlook something as large-scale as Napoleon’s ill-fated invasion of Russia.’
2. According to the recording, what’s the word Julie used to describe Russian history, and Bill also thought it was appropriate?
说明：
1.文本摘自《Advanced 彭蒙惠英语》，由chandler30亲自录入。
2.回帖内容为大家讨论类话题，如非个人隐私，请不要选中“只有楼主可见”，以便大家交流。
3.参考答案在二楼，回复可见。
4.参与讨论问题奖励50沪元，回答问题奖励50沪元，本栏目谢绝灌水!