●Introduction to the second edition (1983)
Editor's introduction to the English edition
Translator's introduction to the English edition
PART I
CHAPTER 1 Translation theory: The state of the art
1.1 An overview
1.2 General and specialised theories
1.3 Linguistic methodology
1.4 Literary methodology
CHAPTER 2 Translation as a process
2.1 The genesis of a literary work and of its translation
2.2 The three stages of the translator's work
2.2.1 Apprehension
2.2.2 Interpretation
2.2.3 Re-stylisation
CHAPTER 3 Translation aesthetics
3.1 Creative production
3.1.1 Translation as an art form
3.1.2 The dual norm in translation
3.1.3 The hybrid nature of translation
3.1.4 The ambivalent relationship with the original literature
3.2 The translator's linguistic and literary creativity
3.2.1 The 'classic' translation
3.2.2 Translation tradition
3.2.3 Linguistic creativity
3.3 Fidelity in reproduction
3.3.1 Translation procedures
3.3.2 Cultural and historical specificity
3.3.3 The whole and its parts
CHAPTER 4 On the poetics of translation
4.1 Artistic and 'translation' styles
4.L1 Lexical choices
4.1.2 The idea and its expression
4.2 Translating book titles
CHAPTER 5 Drama translation
5.1 Speakability and intelligibility
5.2 Stylisation of theatrical discourse
5.3 Semantic contexts
5.4 Verbal action
5.5 Dialogue and characters
5.6 The principle of selective accuracy
CHAPTER 6 Translation in literary studies
6.1 Mapping the history of translation practice
6.2 Translation analysis
6.3 Translation in national cultures and world literature
PART II
CHAPTER 1 Original verse and translated verse
1.1 Verse and prose
1.2 Rhymed and unrhymed verse
1.3 Semantic density
1.4 The verse of the source and the translator's verse
1.5 The original metre
CHAPTER 2 Translating from non-cognate versification systems
2.1 Quantitative verse
2.2 Syllabic verse
2.3 Accentual verse
CHAPTER 3 Translating from cognate versification systems
3.1 Rhythm
3.1.1 TWO types of rhythm
3.1.2 Freed verse
3.1.3 The tempo of the dacty
3.1.4 Accentual-syllabic versification
3.2 Rhyme
3.2.1 Rhyming vocabulary
3.2.2 Masculine and feminine rhyme
3.2.3 Rich rhyme
3.2.4 Imperfect and decanonised rhyme
3.2.4.1 Rhyming conventions and language
3.2.4.2 Consonance and assonance
3.2.4.3 Decanonised rhyme
3.3 Euphony
CHAPTER 4 Notes on the comparative morphology of verse
4.1 Blank verse
4.2 The alexandrine
4.3 Free verse
CHAPTER 5 Integrating style and thought
References
Index

列維的這部著述主要是基於文學翻譯問題的理論探討，但其框架和基礎卻是調和翻譯研究對立”觀念的嘗試。其中既有將譯作視為文學文本的分析，又有符號學和功能學派的語言學理論作為理據；既考量文本存在的歷史語境及其一般特征，又關注文本內部的結構與自足的文體特點；既談文學、美學的有關問題，又不離開翻譯的討論核心；既有充分的理論借鋻，又始終立足於具體的文學翻譯實例。書中所舉例證，並非在向讀者展示文學翻譯的所謂“規範”，而是作為一種參考和指引，並以講究均衡與辯證的捷克結構主義作為理論支撐。
全書分為兩部分，共十一章。第一部分主要針對文學翻譯的一般性問題進行了探討，包括第一章介紹翻譯研究中不同方法存在的問題和局限、研究現狀、翻譯過程以及戲劇和詩歌翻譯的一些主要問題。第二部分主要針對詩歌的詩律以及翻譯進行探討。從篇章的布局可以看出，對詩歌翻譯的關注占據了全等