Imagery in Translation. stood before my pistol, picking out the ripe cherries and spit­ting out the stones, which flew to where I was standing

stood before my pistol, picking out the ripe cherries and spit­ting out the stones, which flew to where I was standing. His equanimity maddened me. 'What would be the use,' it occurred to me, 'to deprive him of life when he does not treasure it in the least?' A malicious thought flashed through my mind. I low­ered my pistol.

'"You apparently have other things on your mind outside of death,' I said to him. 'It pleases you to be breaking your fast; I have no wish to interfere with you.'

'"You are not interfering with me in the least,' he retorted. 'You may shoot, if you like; however, please yourself; you may keep back the shot — I am always at your service.'

"I turned to the seconds, informing them that I had no in­tention of shooting just then, and with that the duel was over.

"I resigned from the army and withdrew to this little town. Since then not a day has passed without my thinking of revenge. Now my hour has come..."

EXERCISES FOR COMPARISON

• Read all three texts thoroughly, noting differences that
jump to your attention.

• Read the texts aloud to feel difference in rhythm.

• Study the difference in the vocabulary, choice of words
and their comparative conceptual force. Note down the most strik­
ing differences a) between the Russian and English texts, and b)
between the two English texts. Comment on the changes.

• Study the difference in syntactic structures of the texts
and comment on how the changes influence the rhythm of the
narrative.

• Study the style of the source text to compare it with the
two translated variants. Identify connection between changes in
style and shifts in mood and imagery.

• Analyse the two English texts from the point of view of

Практикум по художественному переводу

cultural nuances developed in the translation made by the Rus­sian native speaker and by the American one.

• Discuss the result of the comparative study.

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