Shakespeare in Spanish?

Question

Has anyone found a good Spanish translation of Shakespeare's plays? I am reluctant to even try reading one. I have found that when it comes to classic art, especially those meant to be communicated verbally, much is lost in translation. I tried reading English translations of Cervantes, but it just wasn't the same. Native Italian speakers have said the same about Dante Alighieri's translated works.

Is it possible to effectively capture original irony, humor, cultural significance in another language?

Answer 1

Zounds, forsooth, say it not so m'lord!

Shakespeare is all about the glory of language, and it seems much would be lost in translation from Elizabethan English. Even translations to modern English are usually awful, unless they are transformations, not translations, such as "West Side Story".

Good point. Take the plot and set it into a more contemporary language usage. - unifiedac, Jul 22, 2011

Answer 2

I find 90% of the enjoyment of Shakespere comes from the lanugage, of course the stories are great but we've all seen them parodied so many times they've lost a bit of their umph.

I think a hell of a lot is always lost in translation, which is scary because all of my favourite books are translated from other languages!

Just recently I was listening to a college lecture online about Anna Karenina, and there were so many differences between the story he was talking about and the one I'd read, because I read the Constance Garnet one, and her Russian wasn't perfect (she didn't have SpanishDict or anything similar to help her of course) so any time she didn't understand something she would just skip it, and it seems there were a few mistranslations that really changed the story. But even if it's well translated, it's still a new work of art, separate from the original.

I agree, more often than not, the language IS the storyline. The language carries the story along. - unifiedac, Jul 22, 2011

Answer 3

I don't want to discourage you but Shakespeare in English is difficult enough for modern speakers. In Spanish, would you want the translator to first put it in modern English, then to modern Spanish, or from the original English into modern Spanish, or maybe into an approximation of the Spanish contemporary with Cervantes and Shakespeare?

I tried reading English translations of Cervantes, but it just wasn't the same.

I am looking forward to listening to Don Quijote and following along in the text. The Voices en Espanol podcast recently offered it.

You can download mp3s of all 126 chapters of El Quijote to your heart’s content, free of charge. If you want to read the text while you listen, every chapter of Don Quijote is here [link text][1] Enjoy!

I read recently that Shakespeare carried around a copy of Don Quijote, so maybe he could read Spanish!

If the link above doesn't work, copy and paste this. http://spanish-podcast.com/2008/08/01/audio-podcast-of-don-quixote/

Really? I thought they weren't even sure who Shakespere was, maybe it's revisionist history? - rabbitwho, Jul 22, 2011

Maybe it's just a rumor :) - Sabor, Jul 22, 2011

Answer 4

Shakespeare

"What light from yonder window breaks?"

Modern English

"What is that light that is shinning out of that window over there?"

I know which one I prefer. No contest.

I saw "yonder" was translated as "aquella" in Spanish. Which is the same but loses something.. I think the fact that no one says "yonder" anymore adds a lot of magic to it. :D - rabbitwho, Jul 22, 2011