ANALYSIS OF AN

EXTRACT FROM
SHAKESPEARE'S
TRAGEDY "ROMEO AND
JULIET" AND IRYNA
STESHENKO'S
TRANSLATION

INNA FERENTS, INP-13

 IRYNA STESHENKO AS
A TRANSLATOR
Iryna Steshenko is a Ukrainian dramatic actress, writer
and translator, and a member of the USSR Writers'
Union.
Her assets include the following translations: "Yegor
Bulychev and Others" by Gorky, "Wolves and Sheep" by
Ostrovsky, comedies by Goldoni, "Egmont" by J.-V.
Goethe, Schiller's "Don Carlos", "The Adventures of
Huckleberry Finn" later, unauthorized, Palamarchuk's
edition - "Huckleberry…") Mark Twain, Shakespeare's
tragedy and comedy, Jack London's story in his
Ukrainian twelve-volume, twenty-five short stories by
Henry Loe works by G. Maupassant, G. Ibsen. Steshenko
is the author of many unpublished reviews of translated
and original plays for various publishing houses and the
Ministry of Culture.
1 O, she doth teach the torches to burn bright!
2 It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night
3 As a rich jewel in an Ethiop’s ear
4 — Beauty too rich for use, for Earth too dear.
5 So shows a snowy dove trooping with crows
6 As yonder lady o’er her fellows shows.
7 The measure done, I’ll watch her place of
stand
8 And, touching hers, make blessèd my rude
hand.
9 Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight,
10 For I ne’er saw true beauty till this night.
Померкли смолоскипи перед нею!
І світить вродою вона своєю
На щоках ночі - діамант ясний
У вусі мавра; скарб цей дорогий
І для землі, і для життя сія.
Вона - омріяна любов моя!
її оточують прекрасні дами,
Вона ж між них - голубка між галками!
Коли танок закінчать вже, саму
За ніжну ручку я її візьму,
І щастя неземне тоді відчую...
Чи ж я коли любив? Чи ще люблю я?
О ні! Зрікайтеся, брехливі очі!
Не знали ви краси до цеї ночі!
 General view

FIRST OF ALL, I WOULD LIKE TO DRAW

YOUR ATTENTION TO THE FACT THAT
IRYNA STESHENKO'S TRANSLATION IS
SLIGHTLY LARGER THAN THE ORIGINAL.
SHE USED THE TECHNIQUE OF
ADDITION TO PRESERVE THE RHYME.
SHE ALSO WANTED TO FULLY CONVEY
THE MAIN IDEA OF THIS EXTRACT AND
MAKE IT CLEAR TO UKRAINIANS.
 THE FIRST LINE
The key word in the first line is
"torches". Since the action
happening at the ball, Romeo
compares the beauty of Juliet with
torches that
illuminate the room. Iryna Steshenko
somewhat expands the meaning of
the line and adds that
Juliet "світить вродою вона своєю". Also,
I like, that she used the word "врода"
instead of "краса" to further emphasize
the attractiveness of the heroine
 The second line

SHAKESPEARE USED A VERY UNUSUAL

METAPHORICAL PHRASE "THE CHEEK
OF NIGHT". IRYNA STESHENKO DID
NOT WANT TO LOSE SUCH AN
INTERESTING EXPRESSION, SO
TRANSLATED IT LITERALLY "НА
ЩОКАХ НОЧІ"
 THE THIRD LINE
Iryna Steshenko translated "a rich jewel" like a
"діамант ясний". In this way she equated Juliet's
beauty with the most precious stone and made
this line more emotional. In the reproduction of “in
an Ethiop’s
ear ”, the translator chose the literary meaning
of the word“ Ethiop ”-“Мавр”
 The fourth line
The translator decided to enrich the next line
with figures of speech. Firstly, she replaced
the word "beauty" with "скарб". In my
opinion, it sounds more interesting and
expressive. Secondly, Iryna Steshenko used
not only "і для землі", but also added "і для
життя сія". In so doing , she emphasized the
importance of Juliet's insane beauty. Besides,
she added one more line "Вона омріяна
любов моя".
The fifth and the sixth lines
SHAKESPEARE WROTE THIS LINE: "A
SNOWY DOVE TROOPING WITH
CROWS". IRYNA CHANGED IT A LITTLE
BIT IN THIS WAY: "ВОНА Ж МІЖ НИХ -
ГОЛУБКА МІЖ ГАЛКАМИ".
IT MEANS THAT SHE IS FAR MORE
BEAUIFUL THAN THE OTHER GIRLS,
SHE IS LIKE A DOVE WALKING AMONG
CROWS. ALSO, TRANSLATOR OMITTED
AN ADJECTIVE "SNOWY"
 The eighth line
IRYNA STESHENKO REPLACED "AND,
TOUCHING HERS, MAKE BLESSÈD MY
RUDE HAND" WITH "ЗА НІЖНУ РУЧКУ Я ЇЇ
ВІЗЬМУ,
І ЩАСТЯ НЕЗЕМНЕ ТОДІ ВІДЧУЮ". IN MY
OPINION, THE TRANSLATION SOUNDS
MORE MELODIC, SOFT AND CUTE. MAYBE,
BECAUSE OF WORD "РУЧКА" OR EPITHET
"НІЖНУ". IRYNA STASHENKO MANAGED
TO CONVEY THE FEELING OF ROMEO TO
JULIET VERY WELL.
 The nineth line

IN THE NINETH LINE WE CAN SEE

A RHETEORICAL QUESTION " DID
MY HEART LOVE TILL NOW?".
IRYNA USED ONE MORE "ЧИ Ж Я
КОЛИ ЛЮБИВ? ЧИ ЩЕ ЛЮБЛЮ
Я?
 Conclusion
TO SUM UP, I WOULD LIKE TO SAY THAT IRYNA STESHENKO
SUCCEEDED IN HIS TRANSLATION TO
REPRODUCE THE ORIGINAL IN DETAILS, WITHOUT OMITTING
SECONDARY MEANINGS, SOMETIMES ADDING A FEW
EXTRA WORDS, PHRASES AND EVEN LINES. THANKS TO HIS
EXPERIENCE IN
THEATRICAL ART, A WOMAN CONVEYS THE FEELINGS AND
EXPERIENCES OF YOUNG
LOVERS VERY EXCITING, TOUCHING AND FEMININE. SHE IS SO
FEELS AT EASE THE IMAGE OF LOVE THAT THE READER FORGETS
THAT IT IS NOT THE ORIGINAL.
I. STESHENKO REPRODUCES NOT WORDS, BUT THOUGHT, STRICTLY
ADHERING TO THE IDEA OF ​T HE PLAY