Филологические науки/7. Язык, речь, речевая коммуникация

Kuimova M.V.

National research Tomsk polytechnic university, Russia

Stylistic devices in William Shakespeare’s plays

He was the man who of all modern, and perhaps ancient poets,

had the largest and most comprehensive soul.

John Dryden (1631-1700)

Literary translation is a certain interpretation of the original text, an adequate creation of a new text. A literary translator must not only have excellent language skills, but also know how to determine the author’s style, be fluent at using phraseology, metaphors, idioms, expressive style, and feel the wordplay. Undoubtedly, language does not just reveal factual information; it also communicates to us a sense of the emotional attitude and intelligence of the speaker. In this paper we are going to discuss certain issues of stylistic devices in William Shakespeare’s plays.

What makes William Shakespeare so outstanding is his style. His works are full of complex plots, pun, metaphors, personification, simile, metonymy, etc. We are going to research the use of some devices. These are:

1) metaphor (is a word or phrase that means one thing and is used for referring to another thing in order to emphasize their similar qualities) [3].

e.g. To be, or not to be: that is the question:

Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer

The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,

Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,

And by opposing end them? To die: to sleep;

No more; and by a sleep to say we end

The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks

That flesh is heir to, ‘tis a consummation

Devoutly to be wish’d. To die, to sleep (from “Hamlet” by W. Shakespeare).

2) irony (the use of words to express something different from and often opposite to their literal meaning) [2].

e.g. None of woman born shall harm Macbeth

Macbeth will not die until Birnam wood will come near Dunsinane Hill (from “Macbeth” by W. Shakespeare).

3) allusion (is a reference, within a literary work, to another work of fiction, a film, a piece of art, or even a real event) [1].

e.g. Dido a dowdy, Cleopatra a gypsy, Helen and Hero hildings and harlots, Thisbe a grey eye or so, but not to the purpose (from “Romeo and Juliet” by W. Shakespeare).

4) synecdoche (a figure of speech in which a part is used for the whole [as hand for sailor], the whole for a part [as the law for police officer], the specific for the general [as cutthroat for assassin], the general for the specific [as thief for pickpocket], or the material for the thing made from it [as steel for sword]) [4].

e.g. Let each man render me his bloody hand” (from “Julius Caesar” by W. Shakespeare).

On the whole, it should be said that translation of literary works is a time-consuming, toilsome process. To become a good translator a man should be in-deep reader, have a feeling for language, notice the author’s style, get a sense for genre and nuance, have inspiration for interpreting the work into the target language.

References:

1) Allusion definition for creative writers. URL: http://fictionwriting.about.com/od/glossary/g/allusion.htm (accessed February 13, 2013).

2) Irony. The free dictionary. URL: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/irony (accessed February 13, 2013).

3) Metaphor – definition. Macmillan Dictionary. URL: http://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/british/metaphor (accessed February 13, 2013).

4) Synecdoche. The free dictionary. URL: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/synecdoche (accessed February 13, 2013).