Increasing the creolization: W. Busch’s “Plish And Plum” translated by D. Kharms

Abstract

The article discusses the free translations of W. Busch’s rhymed story “Plish and Plum” (written in 1882) made by D. Kharms in 1936 and 1937. The analyzed story is a variant of creolized texts where the verbal and the visual parts maintain a complex relationship. Kharms preferred to realize the informational function of the text and almost neutralize the deictic one as well as to increase the narrative dynamics. He rejected extra verbal and visual detailing and long reflections. Kharms also rejected the verbal marking of polysubject situations and some plot-determined details that increased the importance of the visual part of the story. Choosing another type of narrator (neutralizing the elements of an implicit adult actor) and changing the ending of the story allowed Kharm not only to make that story part of new soviet cultural and educational tradition but also employ it as a part of the absurdist literature traditions. This was achieved through the usage of more complicated ways of verbal and visual reference.

Keywords: W. Busch; Plish and Plum; creolized text; verbal and visual parts; graphic story; rhymed story; K. L’dov; D. Kharms; magazine «Chizh»; translation strategy; Plisch und Plum