ABSTRACT
I am not going to mention the role of interlinear translation when translating verse. I am convinced that it is much better to translate verse from the original than from an interlinear translation. On the other hand, I know a lot of excellent verse and poems made this way. For example, Vasilii Zhukovskii, who didn’t know Greek, created the Odyssey from an interlinear translation, and his work is widely recognized to this day. The point is probably that the main factor in translating verse is a supreme command of Russian versification but not a knowledge of foreign languages. But it is impossible to use an interlinear translation when working on a novel, however talented a translator might be. The interlinear translation of a novel is not a window opening onto the original but a thick wall that blocks one’s vision.
