Aesthetic Quality Reproduction In Theatre Translation

Theatre translation is one of the most neglected areas in the field of translation. There is very little material on the special problems of translating dramatic texts. In addition, "the statements of individual theatre translators often imply that the methodology used in the translation process is the same as that used to approach prose texts" (Bassnett 119). Yet even the most superficial consideration of the question must show that the dramatic text cannot be translated in the same way as the prose text. To begin with, a theatre is read differently. It is read as "something incomplete, rather than as a fully rounded unit, since it is only in performance that the potential of the text is realized" (Bassnett 120).Theatre is a special member of the literature family in that it doubles as a branch of the performing art. It follows that the aesthetic constitutions of a dramatic creation is a complex problem, which needs to be settled before we talk about the reproduction of these artistic features. In the present thesis the author attempts to approach the aesthetic constitutions of a piece of theatrical creation by taking Thunderstorm as an example.The present paper aims to determine, in the first chapter, the aesthetic constituents of a dramatic text when considered as a genre of literary works. It is the translator's duty to grasp the artistic features of the literary creation and reproduce them in the version since the most important thing in a piece of literature is its artistic features as Mao Dun points out (Chen Fukang 236). According to Liu Miqing, the aesthetic constitutions can be classified into two categories, namely, the dominant ones and the recessive ones (Liu Miqing 205-208). The author explores the artistic qualities of Thunderstorm under this guidance.In chapter two, the author introduces what are the specific qualities of theatre as a genre of performing art. It offers the general characteristics of dramatic discourse as well as the peculiarities in Thunderstorm. As a theatre presupposes performance,undoubtedly then, it must contain the factors that make it playable. Assuming this, the author proposes that the charm of a theatre should also be reproduced in the translation.Giving adequate display to the aesthetic qualities of a dramatic text, in chapter three, the author dwells on the reproduction of the aesthetic qualities discussed in the first two chapters. With special reference to Thunderstorm and its translation by Wang Zuoliang and Barnes, the present author expounds the aesthetic criteria for language transferring.Since linguistic materials in the two languages are differently organized for the same expression, there is no total linguistic correspondence in the surface structure to express the same subject. It is rather impossible to duplicate exactly the artistic features of the original play in the translated one. Every reader and audience of the same dramatic text has different aesthetic perception due to his or her various aesthetic tastes. And chapter four is devoted to the analysis of such issue involved in the reproduction of the aesthetic qualities in theatre translation which block the way of translator to find a perfect version.The originality of the present paper lies in that theatre is regarded not only as a branch of literature but also as a kind of performing art which makes theatrical creation contain certain aesthetic features and these artistic constituents should be kept in drama translation since the final goal of a piece of theatre is performance. The present paper explores the aesthetic constitution of a theatre and the characteristics of theatrical discourse, which, together with the aesthetic quality of theatre as a branch of literature, make the total charm of a piece of theatrical creation. Through the case study of the play Thunderstorm and its translation by Wang Zuoliang and Barnes, the author is inclined to get the conclusion that without the consideration of a piece of theatrical creation as a type of performance art any drama translation would lack for beauty. Wang and Barnes' translation of the play, Thunderstorm, can be called a success as a theatre translation.Both the practice and theory of theatre translation are unduly neglected in China as well as in the world. The difficulties of describing and analyzing what takes placewhen a play text is transposed from one language into another and performed in that second language extend the problematic of relationship between play and performance much further and compound the problems. It is the present author's hope as well as this paper's goal that this problem of theatre translation can arouse scholars' attention; more and more investigations are performed in the future and there will be enough materials as the guidance for theatre translators to achieve perfect theatre translation works.