THE SYMBOLIST BACKGROUND

The activity of translation has played a particularly important role in the development of the Russian literary tradition from its very inception; it has served as one of the major channels of expression for the intensity of Russia's interest in the West and desire to overcome the barrier of cultural isolation from Europe. Through translation, a work of foreign literature would be incorporated into the Russian tradition, and come to be regarded as an original creation in its own right. When, for example, Gnedich's translation of Homer's Iliad appeared in 1829, Pushkin greeted it as a new Russian Iliad which would take its place within Russian literature as a major influence: ‘At last the translation of the Iliad which we have been waiting for so impatiently and for so long has appeared! … A Russian Iliad is before us. We are embarking on a study of it so as to give our readers a report in due course on a book which is bound to have so important an influence on our native literature.’

Translators in Russia have accordingly often enjoyed a particular reverence; their work is not regarded as secondary in status to original literary activity, but as equally important. Many of Russia's most gifted poets and writers have made substantial contributions to Russian literature through translations. Zhukovsky's translation of the Odyssey or Pasternak's translations of Shakespeare are classic examples.