When the Ear Gives the Eye – Stanisław Barańczak’s fonety

Abstract

This paper examines the question of the relations between music and the written word. Interdisciplinary interpretations of selected fonety – a literary genre proposed by Barańczak in Pegaz Zdębiał – discuss translation twists, a form of translation based on listening to the music of Mozart and the libretto of Da Ponte. Barańczak’s quasi-translations, often semantically contrary to the original, maintain the discipline required of texts written to match music. The double effect gained in fonety [translation-parodies], musical-literary provenance and at the same time ubiquitous humour, allow the reader to understand how Barańczak interpreted musical masterpieces.