Visualization Project: Text-Analysis and Translation

Sources:

Pedro Calderón de la Barca La vida es sueño (Life is a Dream)

• Original: no manuscripts survive   Excerpt Calderon Spanish2.doc

1. Vern G. Williamsen Ed. (1982) – The base text for this edition is that of Everett W. Hesse, La vida es sueño (New York: Scribner's Sons, 1961) based , in turn, on the princeps of the work in the Primera Parte de las Comedias de Don Pedro Calderón de la Barca (Madrid, 1636). 

   (http://w3.coh.arizona.edu/projects/comedia/calderon/vidsue1a.html)

2. Evangelina Rodriguez Cuadros Ed. (1997) – Madrid, Espasa-Calpe, 1997, 18ª ed. (http://www.cervantesvirtual.com/servlet/SirveObras/02448397211915617422202/p0000001.htm#I_0_)

• Translations: all are full-length English-language versions  Excerpt Calderon English.doc

1. Denis Florence MacCarthy (1850/1873) – Irish poet, translator and biographer.  “Translation in the metre of the original.” Calderon's Dramas. Published in London by Henry S. King in 1873. Containing Life is a Dream (La Vida es Sueño).  The base text followed is that of Hartzenbusch in his edition of Calderon's Comedias, Madrid, 1856 ("Biblioteca de Autores Espanoles"). (http://www.gutenberg.org)

2. Edward FitzGerald (1853/1858) – English poet. (http://www.gutenberg.org)

3. Gegory J. Racz (2006) – claims to be the first attempt to render the drama in analogue meter and rhyme since 1850’s. Follows version by Juan Eugenio de Hartzenbusch, 1851 ("Biblioteca de Autores Espanoles").

Summary of Text:

Translations:

            Over twenty English-language translations of Calderon’s La vida es sueño are in existence.  The majority of these have been published in book form, though some remain in manuscript, and many are now out of print.  These texts vary considerably in aesthetic conceptualization and poetic strategy, and range from literal prose versions to free-verse renderings, and abridged adaptations for the stage. 

La vida es sueño: (1635)

            Considered by many to be the supreme example of Spanish Golden Age drama, La vida es sueño was written as a comedy, yet it has tragic overtones and its leading characters meditate on such serious questions as moral behavior, the opposition between free-will and predestination, reality and illusion, various types of hybridity, and the nature and purpose of human life in general.  These central themes overshadow other themes present, like the education of princes, the model ruler, power, honor and justice. 

            In it, the notion that the world is a stage and life an apparition, a dream, is not simply a poetic image or metaphor; it is presented as a philosophy, a design for living.  The implication is that in spite of the purposelessness of life, or perhaps because of it, life should be lived with dignity, courage, and morals.  The lessons taught about human conduct carry a twofold message: life is a dream, yet it must not be lived irresponsibly.  Each of us must discover our own idea of virtue and honor and practice it, as it were, gratuitously.  The subplot is that of a routine comedy, full of disguises and surprise recognitions; yet it is carried by characters whose main purpose seems to be to meditate on human destiny and to contemplate death, while their speech, at once formal and exuberant, full of rich imagery, expresses their vitality and earthly attachment. 

Plot Summary:

            In the play, the king of Poland, Basil, has had his son Segismund imprisoned all of his life because it has been prophesied that the son will bring calamity to the country.  The king tells his subjects that his son died after childbirth, but after his son has grown to be a man, he reveals to his court that he lives, and allows the court to vote in favor of allowing the son to become heir.  However, the son turns out to be violent, killing a man and attempting rape.  For this he is drugged and returned to his prison, and told upon waking that the previous day's events were merely a dream.  Still, his jailer, Clotaldo, scolds him for his un-princely behavior, which prompts remorse in Segismund.  Rebels against the king, who have found out about the treatment of Segismund, break him out of prison. The rebels defeat the king's army; however, Segismund doubts again if he is in reality or a dream, finally deciding that even in a dream we have to behave well, and ultimately forgives the king.

Rational for Selection:

            My research focus in Spanish, English and Italian early modern literature prompted me to select Calderon’s La vida es sueño as the text for the project.  Other factors that affected my decision were my growing interest in translation studies, and the realization that there are several similarities between translation and text-analysis: both translation and text-analysis involve the re-creation of text, a close analysis of its content, and a heightened understanding of our role as co-creators of literature.  Lastly, Calderon’s work is ideal due to its rich imagery and thematic content.

Goals - Gain understanding of the following issues:

• How do text-analysis tools help identify themes within a text?
• How do text-analysis tools enrich the reading experience?

• What is maintained, gained and/or lost in translation?
• How do the translator’s choices (emphasis on reader/text, style/meaning, word/image, etc.) alter the themes and overall content of the text?
• Do the translator’s choices reveal anything about their own culture and conditioning?

Methodology:

            Utilize various text-analysis tools (TAPoR, TagCrowd, ManyEyes, Crawdad, etc.) from the toy chest to visualize word frequencies along with their importance, identify usage patterns and themes in the source text(s), and ultimately contrast them to those found in the English-language translation(s).    

Tentative Bibliography:

 Berman, Antoine.  “Translation and the Trials of the Foreign.” Trans. Lawrence Venuti.  The Translation Studies Reader. Ed. Lawrence Venuti. 2^nd ed.  New York: Routledge, 2004. 276-289.

Borges, Jorge Luis.  “Pierre Menard, Author of the Quixote.” Ficciones. Buenos Aires: Editorial Sur, 1944.

Borges, Jorge Luis. “Some Versions of Homer.” PMLA. Vol. 107, No. 5 (1992). 1134-1138.

Borges, Jorge Luis. “The Translators of the One Thousand and One Nights.” Trans. Esther Allen.  The Translation Studies Reader. Ed. Lawrence Venuti.  2^nd ed.  New York: Routledge, 2004. 94-108.

Burrows, J. F. and Craig, D. H. “Lyrical drama and the ‘turbid montebanks’: styles of dialogue in Romantic and Renaissance tragedy. Computers and the Humanities, 28: 63-86 (1994).

McLeod, Randall.  “Information on Information.” In TEXT 5, D.C. Greentham and W. Speed Hill, eds. New York: AMS Press, 1991. 241-84.

Nord, Christiane.  Text Analysis in Translation: Theory, Methodology, and Didactic Application of a Model for Translation-Oriented Text Analysis. 2^nd Ed. New York: Rodopi B.V., 2005.

Translation Project Details

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