Dialogism and intertextuality to translate The comedy of errors

Abstract

The dialogical perspective which approaches literary texts within a web of relationships with other texts and discourses, past and contemporary, may be productive for the analysis, understanding, and translation of Shakespeare’s works. The intertextual connections that every literary text establishes with other discourses determine not only its meaning but also its texture. The purpose of the present essay is to emphasize the importance to identify the dialogical relations of Shakespeare’s plays for a deeper understanding of texts in their contexts, and for avoiding falling into reductionist interpretations or misconceptions. Also, to point out the relevance of taking intertextual phenomena into account in the act of translation, as it facilitates the translator’s mediating task of establishing a dialogue between the languages and cultures involved and making more informed and conscious choices. To showcase the effectiveness of identifying these meaningful relations, the intertextual relations of The Comedy of Errors with other texts and sources, the literary traditions prevailing at the time, and the Elizabethan cultural discourses are analyzed in light of Robert S. Miola’s proposal (2004).