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Part of
Relevance Theory, Figuration, and Continuity in Pragmatics
Edited by Agnieszka Piskorska
[Figurative Thought and Language 8] 2020
► pp. 309–326

Chapter 11
Echoic irony in Philip Larkin’s poetry and its preservation in Polish translations

| University of Warsaw, Poland

This chapter deals with the implications that the relevance-theoretic account of irony might have for the interpretation of Philip Larkin’s poetry, acknowledged to be ironic by many literary critics. This is exemplified by poems Church Going and Water. In reference to the latter, the chapter also considers the impact of adopting this model on assessing translations. To illustrate this point, two Polish translations of this poem are discussed. It is argued that incorporating an analysis of echoic irony into the critique of the translations can shed light on the issue of their faithfulness to the original.

Keywords: echoic irony, meaning reversal, Philip Larkin, translation, comparative study
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Relevance theory on irony
  • 3.Philip Larkin’s echoes
  • 4.Larkin’s irony in translation
    • 4.1Larkin’s irony in translation. Conclusion
  • 5.Conclusion
  • Notes
  • Acknowledgements
  • References
Published online: 20 May 2020
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/ftl.8.11wal
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