Shakespeare and the French Poet

by Yves Bonnefoy

• ISBN13: 9780226064437
• ISBN10: 0226064433
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-06-01
• Publisher: Univ of Chicago Pr

Summary

A meditation on the major plays of Shakespeare and the thorny art of literary translation,Shakespeare and the French Poetcontains twelve essays from France's most esteemed critic and preeminent living poet, Yves Bonnefoy. Offering observations on Shakespeare's response to the spiritual crisis of his era as well as compelling insights on the practical and theoretical challenges of verse in translation, Bonnefoy delivers thoughtful, evocative essays penned in his characteristically powerful prose.Translated specifically for an American readership,Shakespeare and the French Poetalso features a new interview with Bonnefoy. For Shakespeare scholars, Bonnefoy enthusiasts, and students of literary translation,Shakespeare and the French Poetis a celebration of the global language of poetry and the art of "making someone else's voice live again in one's own."

Author Biography

Yves Bonnefoy was awarded the Prix Goncourt of Poetry in 1987. John Naughton is a professor of Romance languages and literatures at Colgate University. He is the principal translator of Bonnefoy's work into English.

Table of Contents

Introduction	vii
Author's Note	xix
PART ONE
1 Shakespeare's Uneasiness	3	(10)
2 Readiness, Ripeness: Hamlet, Lear	13	(15)
3 "Art and Nature": The Background of The Winter's Tale	28	(22)
4 A Day in the Life of Prospero	50	(46)
5 Brutus, or Appointment at Philippi	96	(37)
6 The Nobility of Cleopatra	133	(35)
7 Desdemona Hangs Her Head	168	(45)
PART TWO
8 Shakespeare and the French Poet	213	(12)
9 Transpose or Translate?	225	(5)
10 How Should Shakespeare Be Translated?	230	(13)
11 Translating into Verse or Prose	243	(10)
12 Translating Shakespeare's Sonnets	253	(4)
Interview with Yves Bonnefoy	257	(14)
Sources	271	(2)
Notes on the Translators	273	(4)
Selected Bibliography	277	(4)
Index	281