Reinterpretation and Resignification: A Study of the English Translation of Le Roman de la Rose

Abstract

Literary translation, by its very nature, is a subjective process; not only the language, but also the context, style and socio-cultural information of the source text are filtered through the translator's personal and socio-cultural interpretation. An analysis of a translated text allows us to perceive the nature of the translator's exegetical reading, and through this to gain an insight into the text's reception into a different time or culture. This study uses modern translation analysis methodologies, namely James S. Holmes's 'mapping' technique, to assess the nature and extent of reinterpretation in the Middle English translation of the Roman de la Rose. The conclusion reveals a systematic reinterpretation of the French text's ambiguous language, multivalent symbolism and hermeneutic, based on the codes of courtly love; through consistent methods of concretisation and disambiguation, the author/ translator of the early part of Romaunt of the Rose effects a resignification of key aspects of the source text.