This master's thesis deals with the poems in The Lord of the Rings trilogy by J. R. R. Tolkien and their Slovenian translations by Branko Gradišnik between 2002-2004 and Sergej Hvala in 2023. The aim of the thesis is to identify the changes which occurred in the translations as a result of adapting the text to the target language and whether the translators gave priority to the formal level, i.e. rhythm, rhyme, alliteration, or to the semantic level, i.e. meaning, tone and register, and to point out certain changes that were made but do not fit into either category. The first part of the thesis introduces literary translation, fantasy translation, poetry translation and the concept of retranslation, as well as the trilogy, the author and the two translators. The next part defines the role of poetry in the trilogy, outlines the genres identified by Kullmann, analyses the number of translations worldwide, and proposes a possible strategy for translating both prose and poetry in a unified approach. The third part analyses and compares the original English text and the two translations on a formal and semantic level. The results show some key differences in rhythm and word choice between the two translations and highlight potential improvements, particularly on the semantic level; the analysis suggests that translating prose and poetry separately could help better preserve both form and meaning.
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