Multimodality and Illustrations: A comparative study of the English and Italian illustrated first editions of "The Jungle Book" by Rudyard Kipling

This study provides a multimodal comparative analysis of Rudyard Kipling's "The Jungle Book" (1899) and its first Italian translation entitled "Il libro della jungla". (1928) It examines the way the semantics and interaction of the verbal and visual modes of representation work, especially in respect to the Italian translation. To show the impact of the illustrations in the way this work has been interpreted and translated I will focus on two comparable illustrations from the English and Italian edition. This analysis is inspired by the work of translator and critic Riitta Oittinen (2000) where she argues that illustrations play a central role in the process of translating, particularly with reference to the Target audience. Kress and van Leeuwen work (1996) is used to provide an analytical comparison of the English and the Italian illustration. The web of similarities and differences between these illustrations is discussed through Venuti's domestication and Foreignisation paradigm (1995); this shifts the focus from analytical consideration to the context of the translation. This article shows how some visual strategies adopted in the Italian illustration are connected to crucial political and ideological issues of the time and played an equally crucial role in orienting readers' interpretation of Kipling's work in Italy during the fascist period