Poems chiefly in the Scottish dialectic: Scots poetic translation and the second generation modern Scottish renaissance (c.1940-1981)

Sanderson, Stewart (2012) Poems chiefly in the Scottish dialectic: Scots poetic translation and the second generation modern Scottish renaissance (c.1940-1981). MPhil(R) thesis, University of Glasgow.

Abstract

The modern translation of poetry into the Scots language was of central importance to the movement now known as the Modern Scottish Renaissance, presenting writers with vital opportunities to redefine canons and realise their internationalising intentions. This thesis addresses the Scots-language translation work of the neglected second generation Renaissance poets who came to prominence after World War Two. It aims to situate this corpus of translated poetry in the context of twentieth-century Scottish writing as a whole, considering it in terms of its potential for the redress of tradition and canonicity.
Tom Scott (1918-1995), William J. Tait (1918-1992), Robert Garioch (1909-1981), Sydney Goodsir Smith (1915-1975), Douglas Young (1913-1973) and George Campbell Hay (1915-1984) are the primary poet-translators with whom this thesis is concerned. Hugh MacDiarmid (1892-1978) was clearly of enormous importance as a formative influence on all the writers named above. He will therefore be referred to in terms of his interactions with his younger contemporaries and the impact of this on their Scots-language translation work. The Gaelic poet Sorley MacLean (1911-1996) becomes particularly relevant due to the large number of his poems translated by Garioch, Goodsir Smith and Young.
Why was translation into Scots so important to these writers? What opportunities did it present them with and what drives the decision to translate a particular text into a particular dialect or synthetic form of Scots? What impact do these decisions have on their nature as cultural and political artefacts? What, finally, has been the legacy of these poets’ Scots translations and why are they important today? These are the core questions this thesis aims to address in terms of these texts’ wider global and historical context, drawing upon post-colonial criticism and translation theory to achieve its perspective.

• Item Type: Thesis (MPhil(R))
• Qualification Level: Masters
• Keywords: Scottish Poetry, Scots Language, Translation Studies.
• Subjects: P Language and Literature > PB Modern European Languages; P Language and Literature > PD Germanic languages; P Language and Literature > PE English; P Language and Literature > PN Literature (General); P Language and Literature > PN Literature (General) > PN0080 Criticism; P Language and Literature > PN Literature (General) > PN0441 Literary History
• Colleges/Schools: College of Arts & Humanities > School of Critical Studies > Scottish Literature
• Supervisor's Name: McCue, Dr. Kirsteen
• Date of Award: September 2012
• Depositing User: Mr Stewart Alexander Sanderson
• Unique ID: glathesis:2012-4380
• Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
• Date Deposited: 13 Jun 2013 13:17
• Last Modified: 13 Jun 2013 13:19
• URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/4380