『실낙원』 번역본의 검토

Abstract

Since the 1960s more than twenty translations of John Milton's Paradise Lost have appeared in Korean. This paper is based on a review of these works which attempts to ascertain the merits of each individual text. Four faithful copies have been discerned: the translations by Shinkwon Cho and Changho Choi, and two copies by Changbae Lee. Each of these four works achieves a certain degree of faithfulness and readability while demonstrating its own individual characteristics. Shinkwon Cho's translation excels in its accuracy while it suffers a loss of readability due to its use of complex vocabulary. On the contrary, Changho Choi's work attains the highest level of readability of all four works; however, this is marred by a few definite errors. Changbae Lee's two copies occupy the middle ground, securing more readability than Shinkwon Cho's texts and less errors than Changho Choi's. They show, however, a rather rigid use of tense: one sticks to present tense while the other goes to the past. Comparing and contrasting the four translations has led to an understanding of points to be overcome in rendering such an abstruse text as Paradise Lost. In this way, this paper attempts to elucidate some features of a better translation. It examines flaws in previous translations in the hope of laying a foundation for another text yet to come, which is equipped with the greatest possible accuracy and readability.