It would seem that way from these comparison readings, Max. But, actually,
the glub of understandings fixes mostly on the 'thou', 'thy', 'thee' words.
And they're relatively few in most of the plays. That being the case, I'd
rather do my own "translations" than give way to another English-speaker's
translation of an Elizabethan English-speaker. Not like so many of the
modern-published plays' written texts aren't lavishly editorially footnoted
for contexts and synonyms.
not yet named me
2008/8/30 Max Richards <[log in to unmask]>
> Stumbling on this just now, my first response was negative, but as his
> example
> is a few lines of Thersites which most would stumble over, I begin to feel
> O'Connor has a case for his offering...
>
> Max in Melbourne
>
> "William Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida: A Modern English Translation
>
> Imagine that you are playing Shakespeare's Thersites, and another character
> has
> just invited you to "Come in and vituperate" (Act 2, scene 3 of Troilus and
> Cressida). Which of these two speeches would you rather deliver? ...
>
> You! if I had space in my mind's purse for a fake gold coin, you'd never
> have
> slipped my memory. No matter. I'll tack on a curse for you: Yourself upon
> yourself!. . . May the itch in your blood be your guiding star through
> life!
> Then if the old woman who lays you out thinks you make a pretty corpse,
> I'll be
> sure she's only done lepers. Amen. [translation]
>
> OR:
> If I could `a rememb'red a gilt counterfeit, thou wouldst not have slipped
> out
> of my contemplation: but it is no matter; thy self upon thy self! . . .Let
> thy
> blood be thy direction till thy death! then if she that lays thee out says
> thou
> art a fair corse, I'll be sworn and sworn upon't she never shrouded any but
> lazars. Amen. [original]
>
> Mark O'Connor writes:
>
> "My aim is translation, not adaptation. I translate prose with prose, blank
> verse with blank verse, a couplet with a couplet (though not necessarily
> the
> same rhyming words), and an outdated pun or joke with a comparable modern
> one.
> The aim is to keep open the ambiguities and multiple possibilities of the
> original text, while removing the accidental obscurities caused by
> linguistic
> change."
>
> australianpoet.com is the offical web site of the Australian poet Mark
> O'Connor
> - (c) Mark O'Connor 2008
> contact Mark O'Connor on email [log in to unmask]; tel +61 2 6247
> 3341
>
>
>
>
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