Political Passion And Metaphor

Translation today is as much about the translation of cultural, political, and historical contexts and concepts as it is about language. It touches upon political and cultural dimensions that concern not only the translations of languages but of cultural contexts between different countries, social, and political systems. Since the question of translation has become a politically and culturally crucial question, one can argue that translation can be regarded as a metaphor for some of the most sensitive phenomena in a typcial era.The paper explores the truth hidden behind the translation of English and American poems during the years from 1949 to 1966. Governed and controlled by political power, translation within these 17 years has unfortunately been reduced to a political tool with which all the English and American poems translated are forced subject to the mania a committed age. It proves that translation is far from neutral, nor is it merely a word conversion activity that stays away from politics, ideology and conflicts of interests. Instead, it is a form of culture and ideology that alters, distorts and recreates another form of culture and ideology.This thesis, by synthesizing historical description with theoretical interpretation, general description with case study, examines the translation, influence and acceptance of English and American poems with the historical context of that typical 17 years from 1949-1966 in China. Within the framework of Polysystem Theory and Manipulation Theory, the thesis also analyzes how ideology, poetics, translation norms and translation canons take shape, evolve and assume importance in literary translation in a certain cultural context. Besides, the thesis reveals the interaction between the poetry translation and poetry writing, to see how powerful feelings in poems overflow spontaneously. Finally, the thesis puts forward some tentative research method by which a remedy might be offered for the current historical studies of translation.