Author(s)

Qinglan Chen ¹

Affiliation(s)

¹ Department of English, Language & Theatre Studies, National University of Singarpore, 119077, Singarpore

Corresponding Author

Qinglan Chen

ABSTRACT

As to the performability of theatre translation, Basnett was inconsistent. But it can never be denied that performability is of paramount importance to a playscript. Lin Zhaohua, the director of a Chinese play Hamlet, adapted Zhu Shenghao's written version of Hamlet and produced his script. Compared with Zhu's complete literary version, Lin's presents a stronger performability. This paper will focus on the ways in which Lin adapted Zhu's translation in order to promote the performability of the text and make it more suitable for stage performance from both linguistic and thematic perspectives. For the linguistic perspective, Lin changed some language details to fit his purpose. For the thematic perspective, he reconstructed its original theme, presenting his understanding of this play by two means: the role swapping and the rearrangement of the plot.

KEYWORDS

Hamlet, Lin Zhaohua, Basnett, Linguistic perspectives, Thematic perspectives, Performability, Readability

CITE THIS PAPER

Qinglan Chen, A Study of Lin Zhaohua's Adaptation of Zhu Shenghao's Translation of Hamlet—An Analysis Based on Basnett's View on the Performability of Theatre. Lecture Notes on Language and Literature (2023) Vol. 6: 94-99. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.23977/langl.2023.061415.

REFERENCES

[1] Bassnett Susan. Translation Studies. Methuen, 1980.
[2] Bassnett Susan. Translating for the Theatre: The Case against Performability. TTR, January. 1991: 99-113.
[3] Bassnett Susan, André Lefevere. Constructing Cultures: Essays on Literary Translation. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters, 1998.
[4] Newmark P. A Text Book of Translation. Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press, 2001.
[5] Shakespeare William. The Tragedy of Hamlet: Prince of Danmark, edited by Barbara A. Mowat and Paul Werstine, Folger Shakespeare Library, 2010.
[6] Zhaohua Lin. The Director's Words. Writers Publishing House, 2000.

Sponsors, Associates, and Links

---

• Journal of Language Testing & Assessment
  
  
• Information and Knowledge Management
  
  
• Military and Armament Science
  
  
• Media and Communication Research
  
  
• Journal of Human Movement Science
  
  
• Art and Performance Letters
  
  
• Lecture Notes on History
  
  
• Philosophy Journal
  
  
• Science of Law Journal
  
  
• Journal of Political Science Research
  
  
• Journal of Sociology and Ethnology
  
  
• Advances in Broadcasting