I’m from Hungary, a small, insignificant but extremly proud country in Eastern Europe, with a rich poetic tradition. I was eleven when I’ve first got hold of a copy of the translation of Shakespeare’s sonnets; I’ve read Romeo & Juliet and Hamlet around the same age. My most striking memory is that a few lines from Macbeth scared me so much that I slept under the table in the kitchen floor, shivering. “Something wicked this way comes” was translated as “(bal hüvelykem bizsereg), gonosz lélek közeleg” - “(my left thumb is tingling), an evil spirit is coming this way” and of course, my left thumb kept tingling all night long.
Despite my terrifying encounter with Macbeth, I liked Shakespeare. Later, I became enchanted. That was when I first read his plays in the original version.
I was always discouraged to do so. Everyone kept telling us that we wouldn’t understand Shakespeare in English: even the 18th century Hungarian translations tend to be too complicated for students. But I did read it and did understand it. It was challenging, but that’s what I liked best about it. I decided to major in English to get to know him better.
I had seminars where we would do nothing but read Macbeth line-by-line. By the end of the semester, we barely finished the first act - there was so much to discuss.
We had heated debates about whose love story is Romeo and Juliet . I remember grabbing the edge of the table and shouting passionately, with eyes blazing. We discussed in a more civilised manner how would we represent the ghost of Old Hamlet on stage.
For a long time, Richard III was my favourite, because the lecture we had on it was simply mindblowing. Today I’m going to a conference to hear about the representation of death in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. It’s been years and I’m still not tired of studying Shakespeare.I’ve read most of his plays but I still can’t get enough.
I hope that one day I’ll get a chance to see the Tempest performed in English, my current favourite.
Shakespeare is like a magician for me; and I’m forever spellbound.
0 comentários:
Postar um comentário