Kipling in Polish : ironic face of the empire’s glorifier

Considering the Polish translations of three selected short stories by Rudyard Kipling, the author reflects on the translation of the ironic figures that appear in the texts. Using Mateo’s typology of the translator’s choices while facing irony (1995), the author tries to show the role of this rhetorical device in a wider cultural and historical context. The Polish translators’ way of interpreting irony that appears in the colonial fiction in the early 20th century seems to be determined by their ability to understand the British Empire’s social problems as well as by their sensitivity to the distinctive British humour and their knowledge of colonial life realities. The analysed short stories are: Georgie Porgie, 1888 (translated by Feliks Chwalibóg, 1909), "The Limitations of Pambe Serang", 1889 (Feliks Chwalibóg, 1910) and "The Strange Ride of Morrowbie Jukes", 1885 (unknown translator, 1900).