Poetic Language and Corporeality in Translations of Greek Tragedy

Abstract

The translation of ancient tragedy is often considered at a linguistic level, as if the drama consisted simply of words being written, spoken, and heard. This article contends that translation for the stage is a process in which literary decisions have physical, as well as verbal, outcomes. It traces existing formulations concerning the links between vocal and bodily expression, and explores the ways in which printed texts might be capable of suggesting modes of corporeality or systems of movement to the embodied performer; and sketches some of the ways in which the range of possible relationships between language and physicality might be explored and understood, drawing upon recent practice-based research into the work of three modern poetic translators of Greek tragedy. Stephe Harrop is a theatre practitioner and academic whose work explores the links between text and physical performance. She originally trained as a dancer, and currently teaches at Royal Holloway, University of London. David Wiles is Professor of Theatre at Royal Holloway. His research interests include Greek theatre, masked performance, and drama in translation. His most recent publications include A Short History of Western Performance Space (2003) and Mask and Performance in Greek Tragedy (2007).

Dando vida a los clásicos: la utopía de traducir Aristófanes

“…En ese sentido, deberíamos reparar que, desde el punto de vista performativo, 12 la palabra es voz y, por tanto, un producto corporal y material -todo el cuerpo está involucrado en el hablar. Por ello, según Harrop & Wiles (2008), los traductores deberían explorar también los modos en que los textos pueden ser capaces de sugerir modos de corporalidad y sistemas de movimiento, lo que significa prestar atención a la relación entre 'léxis' y 'schémata', para decirlo con términos griegos. Existiría la necesidad de que una traducción sea no solo 'decible', sino también 'movible', 'danzable', y para ello tendría que atender a toda información paralingüística o suprasegmental sugerida en el texto, como ritmos, pausas, entonación, cambios de tono y también de registro, silencios, y movimientos: "This corporeality of the spoken or sung word tends to be forgotten in a culture of the book, and it is symptomatic that discussion of embodiment has virtually vanished from academic discussions of drama in translation" (Harrop & Wiles, 2008:62).…”