The first day of the Shakespeare 400 Conference at the Ivane Javakhishvili
Tbilisi State University, in conjunction with the Rustaveli National Theatre,
commenced today – 22 September 2016 – to commemorate 400 years since the death
of William Shakespeare. Professor Manana Gelashvili, Head of the Centre for
Shakespeare Studies, opened the conference.
Georgian translator Maya Kiasashvili – translator of Georgian books into
English, such as Flight from the USSR by Dato Turashvili (2008), The Literature
Express by Lasha Bugadze (2012) and The Brueghel Moon by Tamaz Childze (2015)
was the first speaker. Her presentation was called ‘Shakespeare Lives On’
focussing on the translator's challenge, but also the continuing need for modern translations.
The first translation of Shakespeare’s works into Georgian was in 1841 – a
translation from French into Georgian. Typically tragedies, she said, were
translated first. She commented on the challenges in the interpretation of
Shakespeare’s works from double translations – such as English into French, German or
Russian, and then French, German or Russian into Georgian.
Translation difficulties were further highlighted since Shakespeare often invented
his own words. Hence translators were faced with words that they had not heard
or seen before. Shakespeare invented over 1,700 words by changing nouns into
verbs, verbs into adjectives, connecting words, adding prefxes or suffixes,
borrowing from the French or other languages, or devising completely original
words.
Examples of words that Shakespeare (1564-1616) invented include: accessible,
addiction, birthplace, champion, fashionable, grovel, madcap, marketable, olympian,
and unreal.
With Tamar Zhghenti, I presented the paper, Shakespeare and Gerontology –
When the age is in, the wit is out. It focused on ageing and how Shakespeare’s ‘aged’
characters were depicted – whether disparagingly or not. Many of Shakespeare’s
characters were historical figures, such as kings, queens, dukes and duchesses,
so the paper looked at Shakespeare’s interpretation of their age compared with
their real age. This paper will be uploaded to my web page within the next
week.
Friday’s sessions will cover the humanities, with comparisons of
Shakespeare’s plays with the literary works of authors who were inspired by
Shakespeare. The final session will be held at the Rustaveli National Theatre,
with presentations and the showing of a documentary film by David Maziashvili
about Robert Sturua’s version of Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar.
MARTINA NICOLLS is an international
aid and development consultant, and the author of:- The Shortness of
Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet
(2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).
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