Desacralising Shakespeare’s “word” by means of cultural translation/transposition

Abstract

This essay addresses ways in which cultural translation/ transposition can ultimately bring about a positive "desacralisation" of Shakespeare's Word. The discussion starts from the notion of Shakespeare's Word as "sacred" and of sacred writings as highly sensitive language, and proceeds to overview the importance of the notions of denotation, connotation, and context in translation. Then, the essay offers working definitions of cultural translation or cultural transposition, and of non-literal translation. Finally, the essay highlights the author's main aims in translating Shakespeare's theatre and offers a few examples of cultural translation/transposition in his own rendering of Shakespeare's drama into Brazilian Portuguese. Keywords: Shakespeare. Theatre. Cultural translation/transposition. Brazilian Portuguese. DESSACRALIZANDO O "VERBO" SHAKESPEARIANO POR MEIO DE TRADUÇÃO/TRANSPOSIÇÃO CULTURALResumo: Este ensaio aborda procedimentos por meio dos quais a tradução/transposição cultural pode, em última instância, elicitar uma benéfica "dessacralização" do Verbo shakespeariano. A discussão parte da noção