The Retranslation of Hamlet’s Soliloquy in Act III, Scene 1 – to Adapt or Not to Adapt
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.62229/Keywords:
retranslation, foreignization, domestication, translation, adaptationAbstract
This paper sets out to analyse earlier translations of Hamlet, with a focus on Act I, Scene iii, Hamlet's famous soliloquy. The phrase “To be or not to be” is instantly recognizable not simply for theatregoers or students of literature and theatre and it has been (and continues to be) used intertextually by other writers as well as in popular culture. By looking at earlier translations and retranslations / revisions of the soliloquy (Economu 1855; Stern 1877, 1905) the paper examines the Romanian tradition of using indirect translation and retranslation / revision, not only to improve the rendering of the text, but also to adapt it to Romanian culture. The tensions between domesticating versus foreignizing choices are discussed.References
Baer, Brian James (2014), "Translated Literature and the Role of the Reader" in Sandra Bermann and Catherine Porter (Eds.), A Companion to Translation Studies, Wiley Blackwell, Chichester, West Sussex, pp. 333-346.
Bassnett, Susan (1998), "Still Trapped in the Labyrinth: Further Reflections on Translation and Theatre" in Susan Bassnett and Andre Lefevere (Eds.), Constructing cultures: Essays on Literary Translation, Multilingual Matters, Clevedon, pp. 90-108.
Bassnett, Susan (2000), "Theatre and Opera" in Peter France (Ed.), The Oxford Guide to Literature in English Translation Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp. 96-102.
Bassnett, Susan (2002), Translation Studies, 3rd edition, Routledge, London and New York.
Bassnett, Susan, Andre Lefevere, ed. (1998), Constructing cultures: Essays on Literary Translation, Multilingual Matters, Clevedon.
Benjamin, Walter, Hannah Arendt, ed. (1999), Illuminations Essays and Reflections, Translated by Harry Zohn, Schockenbooks, New York.
Berman, Antoine (1990), "La Retraduction comme espace de traduction," Palimpsestes 13(4), pp. 1-7.
Berman, Antoine (2000), "Translation and the Trials of the Foreign" in Lawrence Venuti (Ed.), The Translation Studies Reader, Routledge, London and New York, pp. 284-297.
Bermann, Sandra, Catherine Porter, eds. (2014), A Companion to Translation Studies, Wiley Blackwell Chichester, West Sussex.
Chesterman, A. (2000), "A causal model for Translation Studies", in M. Olahan (Ed.), Intercultural Faultlines: Research Models in Translation Studies I: Textual and Cognitive Aspects, St. Jerome, Manchester, pp. 15-27.
Draica, Dumitru (2014), "Despre Scrierea Limbii Române cu Alfabet Latin", Revista de Lingvistică și Cultură Românească, Nr. 29, online at: https://limbaromana.org/ revista/despre-scrierea-limbii-romane-cu-alfabet-latin/
France, Peter, ed. (2000), The Oxford Guide to Literature in English Translation, Oxford University Press, Oxford.
Gambier, Yves (1994), "La retraduction, retour et détour" Meta: journal des traducteurs / Meta: Translators' Journal, vol. 39, no. 3, p. 413-417.
Koskinen, Kaisa, Outi Paloposki (2015) 'Anxieties of influence. The voice of the first translator in retranslation', The Target 27:1, Special issue on voice in translation, Alexandra Assis Rosa and Cecilia Alvstad (Eds.), pp. 25-39.
Lowe, Elizabeth (2014), "Revisiting Re-translation: Re-creation and Historical Re-vision" in Sandra Bermann and Catherine Porter (Ed.), A Companion to Translation Studies, Wiley Blackwell, Chichester, West Sussex, pp. 413-424.
Mathijssen, Jan Willem (2007), The Breach and the Observance. Theatre retranslation as a strategy of artistic differentiation, with special reference to retranslations of Shakespeare's Hamlet (1777-2001), Utrecht: s.l.. https://www.narcis.nl/publication/RecordID/oai%3 Adspace.library.uu.nl%3A1874%2F22151/uquery/retranslation/id/1/Language/NL
Nicolaescu, Madalina, Maria-Sabina Draga Alexandru, Eds (2012), Shakespeare: Translation and The European Dimension, Ed. Prouniversitaria, București.
Pym, Anthony (1998), Method in Translation History, St. Jerome, Manchester.
Shakespeare, William (1855), Hamlet, Principele Danemarcei; Dramă In Cinci Acte Si Optu Părți De La Shakespeare, D.P. Economu (Transl.), București.
Shakespeare, William (1877), Hamlet Prințul Danemarcei, Tragedie In 5 Acte, A. Stern (Transl.), Tipografia Dorotea, Bucuresci.
Shakespeare, William (1905), Hamlet, A. Stern (Transl.), Editura Librăriei Leon Alcalay, București.
Shakespeare, William (1988), Hamlet, 3rd Ed., Oxford University Press, Oxford.
Todi, Aida (2005), "O Traducere Românească Din Secolul Al Xix-Lea: Hamlet, Principele Danemarcei (1855) 2005, Comunicare Interculturală Şi Integrare Europeană, Academia Romana, Iasi, Http://Www.Philippide.Ro/Pages/Comunicare%20interculturala_2005.Htm
Venuti, Lawrence (1995), The Translator's Invisibility. A History of Translation, Routledge, London and New York.
Venuti, Lawrence, (ed.), (2000), The Translation Studies Reader, Routledge, London and New York.
Zaharia, Oana-Alis (2011), "The First Romanian Translations of Hamlet", American, British and Canadian Studies 2, pp. 106-120.
Zaharia, Oana-Alis (2012), "The European Dimension of Shakespeare's Plays: Rewriting Macbeth and the Romanian 1848 Revolution" in Madalina Nicolaescu and Maria-Sabina Draga Alexandru (Eds.), Shakespeare, Translation and The European Dimension, Ed. Prouniversitaria, București, pp. 89-102.
Zaharia, Oana-Alis (2018), "Nineteenth-Century Romanian Translations: Hamlet for the Page or for the Stage", Studia Litteraria Universitatis Iagellonicae Cracoviensis 13, Z. 3, S. 185-194.
