<p>The significance of early modern Bible translation cannot be
overstated, but its “breadth, and length, and depth, and height” have often
been understated (King James Version, Ephesians 3.18). In this study, I use
three representative case studies of very different types of translation to
create a more dynamic understanding of actual Bible translation practices in
early modern England. These studies examine not only the translations
themselves but also the ways that the translation choices they contain interacted
with early modern readers. </p><p><br></p>
<p>The
introductory Chapter One outlines the history of translation and of Bible
translation more specifically. It also summarizes the states of the fields into
which this work falls, Translation Studies and Religion and Literature. It
articulates the overall scope and goals of the project, which are not to do something
entirely new, per se, but rather to use a new framework to update the work that
has already been done on early modern English Bible translation. Chapter Two
presents a case study in formal interlingual translation that analyzes a
specific word-level translation choice in the King James Version (KJV) to
demonstrate the politics involved even in seemingly minor translation choices.
Chapter Three treats the intermedial translation of the Book of Psalms in the
Sternhold and Hopkins psalter. By using the language and meter of the populace
and using specific translation choices to accommodate the singing rather than
reading of the Psalms, the Sternhold and Hopkins psalter facilitates a more
active and participatory experience for popular worshippers in early modern
England. Finally, Chapter Four analyzes John Milton’s literary translation in <i>Paradise
Lost </i>and establishes it as a spiritual and cultural authority along the
lines of formal interlingual translations. If we consider this translation as
an authoritative one, Milton’s personal theology expressed therein becomes a
potential theological model for readers as well. </p>
<p><br></p><p>By creating
a more flexible understanding of what constitutes an authoritative translation
in early modern England, this study expands the possibilities for the
theological, interpretive, and practical applications of biblical texts, which touched
not only early modern readers but left their legacies for modern readers of all
kinds as well. </p>
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:purdue.edu/oai:figshare.com:article/12689684 |
| Date | 29 July 2020 |
| Creators | Marsalene E Robbins (9148919) |
| Source Sets | Purdue University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, Thesis |
| Rights | CC BY 4.0 |
| Relation | https://figshare.com/articles/thesis/_The_Breadth_and_Length_and_Depth_and_Height_of_Early_Modern_English_Biblical_Translations/12689684 |
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