Sang-Bin LEE

10.18399/acta.2023.26.2.001

sijo translation O’Rourke’s five-line format chang division first ku of the final chang syllable count translation revision

This study undertakes a thorough examination of Kevin O’Rourke’s (1939–2020) translations of sijo (時調), with a particular emphasis on the form of the traditional Korean poetry. The study has a four-fold purpose. First, it explores O’Rourke’s five-line format for rendering the traditional sijo into English. To illustrate distinctive features of this format, I compare his rendition of Hwang Chini’s sijo “Tongjit tal kinagin pam ŭl” (동짓달 기나긴 밤을) with a number of English versions by other translators. Second, I compare three sijo formats(including the five-line format) that O’Rourke utilized at different stages of his career as a translator. This diachronic analysis reveals significant shifts in how O’Rourke felt the traditional sijo should be structured in English. Third, the study deals with three potential problems with the five-line format, namely a visual mismatch between the original and its translation, a susceptibility to editing errors, and variability in e-book viewers. To explore these issues, I provide a detailed examination of O’Rourke’s translations of a number of sijo poems written by Kim Sujang, Chŏng Ch’ŏl, and Hwang Chini. Finally, I analyze O’Rourke’s rendering of the fourth line of translated sijo, which corresponds to the first three syllables of the final chang of the original sijo. This micro-level analysis demonstrates how and to what extent he adjusted the syllable counts of the fourth lines. I conclude with a brief discussion of the wider implications and limitations of O’Rourke’s translation approach.