Ask Marilyn

When poetry is written in other languages, how can the poems still rhyme after translation?

—Dru Harrison, Millcreek, Utah Translation of poetry (which need not rhyme and often does not) is a specialized art form. Depending on the goal of the project, the result will be the translator’s personal judgment of how to interpret the work; other translators would produce notably different translations. Also, many approaches exist. For example, one type may yield a literal translation, in which case the meaning is kept, but beauty may be lost. Another may retain the rhythm of the original but sacrifice some meaning. In the end, the original work is always transformed in some way.

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