Queering Translation History: Shakespeare’s Sonnets in Czech and Slovak Transformations

135 Pages·2021·2.902 MB·English

by  Eva Spišiaková

Queering Translation History
This innovative work challenges normative binaries in contemporary translation
studies and applies frameworks from queer historiography to the discipline in
order to explore shifting perceptions of same-sex love and desire in translations
and retranslations of William Shakespeare’s Sonnets.
The book brings together perspectives from poststructuralism, queer
theory, and translation history to set the stage for an in-depth exploration
of a series of retranslations of the Sonnets from the Czech Republic and
Slovakia. The complex and poetic language of the Sonnets, frequently built
around era-specific idioms and allusions, has produced a number of different
interpretations of the work over the centuries, but questions remain as to how
the translation process may omit, retain, or enhance elements of same-sex love
in retranslated works across time and geographical borders. In focusing on
target cultures which experienced dramatic sociopolitical changes over the
course of the twentieth century and comparing retranslations originating from
these contexts, Spišiaková finds the ideal backdrop in which to draw parallels
between changing developments in power and social structures and shifting
translation strategies related to the representation of gender identities and
sexual orientations beyond what is perceived to be normative.
In so doing, the book advocates for a queer perspective on the study of
translation history and encourages questioning traditional boundaries prevalent
in the discipline, making this key reading for students and researchers in
translation studies, queer theory, and gender studies, as well as those interested
in historical developments in Central and Eastern Europe.
Eva Spišiaková received her PhD in Translation Studies from the University
of Edinburgh and is currently a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Centre
for Translation Studies at the University of Vienna, Austria. Her interests
include the intersection of translation studies with LGBTQ+ issues, disability
studies, and medical humanities, and she is the author of the article “‘We’ve
Called her Stephen’: Czech Translations of The Well of Loneliness and their
Transgender Readings” (2020) and the co-editor of The Routledge Handbook of
Translation and Health (2021).
Routledge Research on Translation and Interpreting
History
Edited by Christopher Rundle, Pekka Kujamäki and
Michaela Wolf
This series showcases cutting-edge research in English on the interdisciplinary
dialogue between translation and interpreting studies and historical perspec-
tives. Building off the emergence of translation and interpreting history as a
subdiscipline of the field in its own right, the series features interdisciplinary
work spanning a range of cultural and geographical contexts which engages
in the treatment of translation and translation practice as social and historical
events.
Languages in the Crossfire
Interpreters in the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939)
Jesús Baigorri-Jalón
Translated by Holly Mikkelson
Queering Translation History
Shakespeare’s Sonnets in Czech and Slovak Transformations
Eva Spišiaková
Retracing the History of Literary Translation in Poland
People – Politics – Poetics
Edited by Magdalena Heydel and Zofia Ziemann
For more information about this series, please visit https://www.routledge.com/
Routledge-Research-on-Translation-and-Interpreting-History/book-series/
RRTIH
Queering Translation History
Shakespeare’s Sonnets in Czech and
Slovak Transformations
Eva Spišiaková
First published 2021
by Routledge
605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158
and by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2021 Taylor & Francis
The right of Eva Spišiaková to be identified as author of this work
has been asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical,
or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval
system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks
or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and
explanation without intent to infringe.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Spišiaková, Eva, author.
Title: Queering translation history: Shakespeare’s sonnets in Czech
and Slovak transformations/Eva Spišiaková.
Description: New York: Routledge, 2021. |
Series:Routledge advances in translation and interpreting studies |
Includes bibliographical references and index. |
Summary: “This innovative work challenges normative binaries in
contemporary translation studies and applies frameworks from queer
historiography to the discipline to explore shifting perceptions of
same-sex love and desire in translations and retranslations of William
Shakespeare’s Sonnets”–Provided by publisher.
Identifiers: LCCN 2020057278 | ISBN 9780367339067 (hardback) |
ISBN 9780429322754 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616–Translations
into Czech–History and criticism. | Shakespeare, William, 1564-
1616–Translations into Slovak–History and criticism. | Shakespeare,
William, 1564-1616. Sonnets. | English poetry–Translations into
Czech–History and criticism. | English poetry–Translations into
Slovak–History and criticism. | Queer theory. | Translating and
interpreting–Czech Republic. | Translating and interpreting–Slovakia.
Classification: LCC PR2881.5.C9 S65 2021 | DDC 822.3/3–dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020057278
ISBN: 9780367339067 (hbk)
ISBN: 9781032021980 (pbk)
ISBN: 9780429322754 (ebk)
Typeset in Bembo
by Deanta Global Publishing Services, Chennai, India
For mum – maminke

Contents
Acknowledgements ix
Introduction 1
Mapping the History of – and in - Queer Translation Studies 4
The Method: Translating Sonnets 6
Overview 9
Notes on Terminology 11
Notes on Language 12
1 Queering Czechoslovakia’s History 13
The First Czechoslovak Republic and the Second World War 13
Socialist Czechoslovakia 15
The Velvet Revolution 21
Divided Paths after 1993 23
2 A Century of Sonnets 28
Shakespeare’s Sonnets 28
The Sonnets in Czechoslovakia 34
The First Full Translation 35
The Six Socialist Sonnets 36
Book Production in Socialist Czechoslovakia 39
Socialist Censorship 42
Velvet Revolution, Divided Nations, and Eight More Sonnets 45
3 The Master Mistress of My Passion 50
Gendering Languages 51
Gendering Sonnets 53
Gendering Translations 56
viii C ontents
Various Recipients 56
Female-Addressed Sonnets 57
Male-Addressed and Neutral Sonnets 64
4 I Love Thee in Such Sort 75
The Lover 77
The Friend 81
From Lovers to Friends 83
Gods and Children 92
Conclusion 98
References 105
Appendix A 113
Index 122
Acknowledgements
Six years in the making, this book owes a lot to many wonderful and knowl-
edgeable people. The series editors, Christopher Rundle, Pekka Kujamäki,
and Michaela Wolf, offered clear and generous feedback that ultimately led
to a much better book than I could have hoped for. The editorial team at
Routledge and in particular Elysse Preposi were always helpful and kind, and
five anonymous reviewers helped to steer this book into the right direction at
the beginning of the publishing process.
This book started as a doctoral thesis and builds on the support and deeply
comforting words of those who led me through these first steps: Leanne
Dawson, Suzanne Trill, Francis Jones, and Carole Jones. A very special thanks
belongs to S¸ ebnem Susam-Saraeva, who is the best mentor, colleague, and
friend I could ever ask for. Sarah Wharton and Naomi Ward have kindly bat-
tled my frequently errant English. The Doctoral Partnership Grant from the
Arts and Humanities Research Council allowed me to work on the then-thesis
full time. The final stages of this book were written with the kind support
of the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme
under the Marie Skłodowska Curie grant agreement No 847693.
My gratitude and boundless admiration belong to all translators of the Sonnets
mentioned in this book. Immersing myself in their work for such a long
time allowed me to appreciate the talent, skill, and grace with which they
approached this holy grail of poetry translations with rare clarity. Martin
Hilský, Miroslav Macek, Miloslav Ulicˇný, and Václav Pinkava have promptly
and selflessly responded to my request for an interview, in the midst of a pan-
demic no less. Miroslav Macek, Václav Pinkava, and Mikuláš Josek also kindly
allowed me to reprint substantial parts of the Sonnets in this book. Despite my
best efforts, I was unable to contact copyright holders for the 1997 version
from Jarmila Urbánková; if you hold these rights and would like to have the
excerpts appearing in this book modified or removed, please get in touch. I
would also like to thank Roberto Kulpa, Joanna Mizielin´ska, and Routledge
for their permission to use Figure 1 on p. 27 originally from the publication
De-Centring Western Sexualities: Central and Eastern European Perspectives (2011).