Pervushina E. A. Testing the Harmony with Algebra: Shakespeare’s Sonnet Translated by Linguists

The article was written within the framework of the project “Shakespeare's Sonnets. Textological, Historical, Literary and Poetological Commentary” (grant from the Russian Foundation for the Humanities, No. 14-04-00531).

(Far Eastern Federal University, Vladivostok)

Abstract ♦ Shakespeare’s Sonnets were quite different from traditions of Russian versification. Translators had to possess special analytical abilities to render them into Russian. That is why the author of the article is convinced that the translations of Shakespeare’s Sonnets made by linguists deserve special attention. The article is devoted to this theme.

The article presents the analysis of the Sonnet 146 translations made by well-known linguists Alexander M. Finkel and Alexander Yu. Militarev. Both translators resolutely opposed the idea of romanticizing Shakespeare’s poems as it had been done by Samuil Ya. Marshak. The author assumes that it happened under the influence of scholarly ideas developed by the translators.

It is well-known that one of the fields developed by the scholar Finkel was linguo-stylistics. Therefore, he applied a special translation strategy of “othering” or “foreignness” — the strategy emphasizing the alien nature of the translated text, the idea that it belongs to a different culture. Finkel discovered a new Shakespeare for Russia — not romanticized in Vasiliy A. Zhukovsky’s and early Alexander S. Pushkin’s poetic style, but an extremely passionate and dramatically strained mannerist and baroque style poet. Finkel’s translation of the Sonnet 146 is done in this very manner. He did not change the original interrogative construction at the beginning of the sonnet. As a result, penitential and confessionary intonations made their way into his text. In search of poetical vocabulary Finkel digressed from the original text, but he found words and phrases emphasizing lyrical expressiveness of the sonnet’s imagery and consequently developing its high philosophical sense.

A distinguished expert in comparative and historical linguistics, a member of schools of thought founded by Igor M. Diakonov and Sergey A. Starostin and also Moscow School of Distant Language Affinity, Militarev developed his own methods of linguistic reconstruction of ethnocultural history. It is no coincidence that Militarev’s literary works demonstrate his ability to perceive deep energy of a poetic word. This ability seems obvious in his translation of sonnet 146. Whereas Finkel always tended to preserve the unity of sonnets’ style, it is the combination of different styles that has become the main feature of Militarev’s poetic manner. In his translation, low colloquial vocabulary is used next to bookish words and expressions. However, the sonnet does not seem to be stylistically eclectic and ill-assorted. On the contrary, emphatically highlighting emotional coloring of each separate style line, this contrast intensifies the general lyrical tension of the sonnet.

Keywords: Shakespeare, Shakespeare’s Sonnets, Russian translations of Shakespeare’s Sonnets.

Pervushina Elena Aleksandrovna, Doctor of Philology, Professor, School of Regional and International Studies, Far Eastern Federal University, Vladivostok; Honorary worker of higher vocational education. Postal address: 8 Sukhanova St., Vladivostok, Russian Federation, 690950. Tel.: +7 (914) 065-54-92. E-mail: pervushelena@yandex.ru

Citation: Pervushina, E. A. (2014) Proverka algebroi garmonii: 146-i sonet Shekspira v perevode lingvistov [Testing the Harmony with Algebra: Shakespeare’s Sonnet Translated by Linguists]. Znanie. Ponimanie. Umenie, no. 3, pp. 296–306. (In Russ.).

Submission date: 25.05.2014.

RUSSIAN VERSION

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