Antigone - A contrast of two translations

In the undertaking of the translation of any literary work from one language to another, many things must be considered. The first of these things is the way in which the translator will handle the cultural differences that have no parallel in the language into which he is translating. Also, how he will attempt to retain the original meanings of words that may no longer exist, or that do not make sense in any language …

…by reading Kitto's interpretation. I wouldn't expect this play to be easy to read, and I think I would have found myself disappointed by Townsend. After having contrasted to a substantial extent the two translations, my preference definitely lies with Kitto's version. Bibliography Sophocles. Antigone. Trans. H. D. F. Kitto. In British and Western Literature, eds. C. Robert Carlsen and Miriam Gilber, 9-36. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1979. Sophocles. Antigone. Trans. Michael Townsend. New York: Harper & Row, 1962.