Biblical and Key-Phrase Allusions in Hamlet, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet

Abstract

Translators who are supposed to be experts in intercultural communication have to be pay sufficient attention to the readers' needs, expectations as well as their background knowledge so that he can decide on the most effective strategy when dealing with culture specific items. Allusion as a culture specific item plays a crucial role in literary texts, and due to this the translator is supposed to make use of the most effective strategy to make the reader perceive the writer's allusive intention to an optimum level. The present study seeks to explore the strategies employed by Ala'uddin Pasargadi's (1999) translation of biblical proper name and key phrase allusions in Shakespeare's hamlet, Macbeth, and Romeo and Juliet on the basis of the potential set of strategies put forward by Leppihalme (1997). The results indicate that the translator has adopted two vastly different strategies as his most favorite to cope with biblical and key-phrase allusions in these Shakespearean tragedies. While he has sought to clarify the allusive significance of the biblical proper names through footnote, the allusive meaning of biblical key phrase allusions has been neglected through his preference to express their sense and dispense with the allusive meaning.