This book contributes to current debates on the various methodological approaches to translation studies. This anthology of the fundamental works of Jiří Levý (1926 – 1967) respects the chronological order of first publication and emphasises its methodological roots.
The first chapter includes the prologue and epilogue of České teorie překladu [Czech Theories of Translation] (1956). The second chapter focuses on the fundamental concepts of his key work Umění překladu [The Art of Translation] (1963).
The chapters that follow include the texts that were published posthumously in Bude literární věda exaktní vědou? [Will the Study of Literature Become an Exact Science?] (Prague, 1971): an abbreviated version of the essay Geneze a recepce literárního díla [The Genesis and Reception of a Literary Work], a summary of the essay Čapkovy překlady ve vývoji českého překladatelství a českého verše [The translations of Karel Čapek and the evolution of the art of Czech translation and Czech verse translation], and the essay Bude teorie překladu užitečná překladatelům? [Will Translation Theory be of Use to Translators?], which summarises the general principles of the views of this Czech author.