A Study Of Image-gestalt Actualization And Aesthetic Representation In Tian Han’s Drama Translation

The present MA thesis intends to make a tentative study of the aesthetic representation indrama translation from the perspective of image-G actualization proposed by Prof. JiangQiuxia on the basis of the examples cited from Tian Han’s drama translation.Drama is one of the most ancient forms of art as well as an indispensable part of humancivilization. A drama is a work of literature or a composition which delineates human life andactivity, reveals social contradictions, and mirrors social phenomena by means of variousactions of and dialogues between the characters and via the artistic forms like literature, music,performance or art, etc. Drama differs from other literary works in that it is not only alinguistic art but also a performing art. Being a type of literature of reading and a stage art,drama shares the stylistic features of novels, poetry and argumentation. In addition, it ownssomething peculiar to itself: the actor’s lines or the way that the playwright employs to shapethe personalities of the characters to promote the development of the plot and to develop thetheme of the play. The duality of drama, literariness and performality, gives a drama its uniquecharm and because of this the translation of drama is supposed not to follow the same waythat is perused in the translation of other literary works. As a specific literary genre withhighly aesthetic value, drama translation not only requires the transfer of the linguisticelements from the source language to the target language, but also demands the aestheticexperience among the target readers. Therefore, how to preserve the original aesthetic valuesand avail the target readers of the similar aesthetic experience to the original readers is worthstudying.This thesis consists of five chapters.Chapter One gives a general introduction to the motivation and objectives of the study, and the organization of the thesis as well. Meanwhile, the research questions are to be posed.Chapter Two first makes a thorough review of drama translation studies both at homeand abroad, as well as the application of image-G actualization, and then makes somecomments on the previous study. Based on the review of drama translation, it can be statedthat the study of drama translation is still at its primary stage. Owning to duality of thereadability and performability of dramatic text, drama translation has been relativelyinfrequently touched on compared with other literary genres such as fiction, prose or poetry.Besides, studies of drama translation have always been concentrating on the drama text formthe perspective of culture or drama critique, fewer efforts have been made on the characters orthe aesthetic qualities of drama text in the history of drama translation.Chapter Three proposes the assumption of applying image-gestalt actualization theory tothe aesthetic representation and image actualization in drama translation. The author firstlymakes a detailed study of the features and basic elements of dramatic text to bring to light thatdrama text is different from other literary genres in that it is both a written form of creationand an art of performance. The sole transference of dramatic text on linguistic level will notonly result in the misunderstanding among the target readers but also fails to display theoriginal aesthetic qualities. Thus, as a specific literary genre with highly aesthetic value,drama translation is expected to be able to evoke aesthetic experience among the targetreaders together with the transference of the linguistic elements from the source language tothe target language. Then through the analysis of the two image-gestalts (dramatic conflictsand personalities of characters) inherently existent in drama text, the author believes that theprocess of drama translation is also the progression of the actualization of image-gestalt ofdrama text. In this progression, the translator first deconstructs the images of original textdepending on their active perception and comprehension, and then actualizes the images inthe translating process. Chapter Four makes up the main part of the thesis, which attempts to testify thepossibility and feasibility of applying image-gestalt actualization theory to the image-gestaltactualization and the aesthetic representation in Tian Han’s drama translation. The author willmake an analysis of the dramatic text from the perspective of the image-G actualization andaesthetic representation on the basis of the three features of image-gestalt in literary text. Asregards the image-G actualization, the study mainly focuses on the accuracy and totality ofimage-gestalt, which are characterized by the two types of gestalt images existent in dramatictexts. Dramatic conflicts and characters personalities will be presented. On the aesthetic level,the attention will be focused on the diction and the strategy used in translation.In the last chapter, the author draws a conclusion: image-G actualization is of instructivesignificance and of applicable value in the aesthetic representation of literary translation; itwill shed light on the study of Tian Han’s drama translation; the process of drama translationis actually the progression of image actualization and the successful translation depends onthe successful actualization of image-gestalt of the original text. When it comes to dramatranslation, the successful translation mainly depends on the effective actualization of the twoimages: dramatic conflicts and the personalities of the characters. Finally, the author pointsout that this thesis, as a tentative study of drama translation, is open to suggestions andcriticism and more efforts have yet to be made in this area to inspire more brilliant findings.