Introduction

This book investigates the intricate connections between retranslation and the profound socio-cultural changes that have shaped Western cultures over the past two centuries. The collected essays address issues such as literary reception, the renewal of literary canons, readers’ expectations and tastes, the transformation of aesthetic values and linguistic standards, the changing status of translators and the position of translated texts in the target polysystems. Drawing on diverse approaches and methodologies, the volume examines publishing history, literary reception, canon formation and the role of texts and paratexts. It offers an original perspective on the methods, purposes and motivations behind retranslation, underlining the historical dimension of a practice that has always been linked to the transformations of the target cultures and their ways of approaching foreignness.