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Showing posts from April, 2013

Problems with Translating Shakespeare

I've found several articles regarding this on the net. I'm new to the Shakespeare world, therefore I didn't know much about the translation issue. In the net, there are "study guides" for Shakespeare, such as No Fear Shakespeare which provides students with modern English translation of William Shakespeare. I bet students will find it highly useful, especially those who are not well-acquainted with plays or old classical literatures or writings in verse. Apart from that, I am also aware that there are modern English editions of Shakespeare available in book stores. (I know that accidentally, because I found some quotes on Goodreads which convey Shakespeare's ideas but not in his exact words.) On the other hand, there are people like David Crystal , which I highly respect (truly I love everything he says about Shakespeare's words and also original pronunciation), who insists that no translation is needed in understanding Shakespeare. There is even a de...

Sonnet 55: By Shakespeare for Shakespeare

This is one of my favourite sonnets of the Bard. The idea of being remembered forever, no matter how the world may change, is beautiful. Upon a second thought, that's exactly what happened to Shakespeare and his works throughout the ages. The Bard has died, but his legacy lives. It makes me wonder whether Shakespeare had written this sonnet while thinking about himself, whether he will live through the ages in 'this', the verses and works that he made, and 'dwell in lovers' eyes'. Well, I love him. Does that make me a lover in a sense? But whatever it was that entered Shakespeare's mind when he wrote this, the sonnet truly can apply to himself. And maybe, it can apply to anyone great enough to be remembered by the rest of their fellow human beings when they die. Just a thought. Have a nice day.