Abstract

This essay is mainly focused on the translations of imagery in some representative different Chinese versions of Shakespeare Sonnets. It is imagery that can enrich the sense of beauty, and deepen the connotation of the poetry. What’s more, images serve as an aid to have an insight into the complicated inner world of the poet and comprehend the political, religious and literature features that embedded in the English culture. For centuries, the translation form is always the focal point of discussion. This dissertation aims to compare the translation of images in sonnet 18 and make a though analysis of imagery in Shakespeare’s Sonnets from the perspective of culture difference and sentiment.

This essay uses methods of both close text reading and case studies, through which plain literary reading and concrete studies are directly connected. 

Through comparative study of several representative translators such as, GU’s, LIANG’s, TU’s, DAI’s, this dissertation discovers that, under most circumstances, translating those images in Shakespeare Sonnets directly can’t completely transfer the original purpose of the poet, at the same time, lost their intrinsic beauty to some extent. Apart from that, some translators didn’t pay much time and energy to study the creating background of the sonnets and inner world of the poet, leading to a weird and uncomfortable translation. Moreover, culture difference results in different understanding of the same imagery between western and Chinese readers. Thus, to produce better results, translators are supposed to do some research on the creating background of sonnets, and transfer the imagery according to the poet’s original meaning to a large extent. However, they should also adjust properly the translation, on account of culture differences and distinction of thinking modes.

Key words: sonnets; imager; translation; culture difference

Contents

Abstract

摘  要

1． Chapter One   Introduction-1

1.1 The Shakespeare’s Sonnets and Chinese Translation Study-1

1.1.1 A Brief Introduction of Shakespeare’s Sonnets-1

1.1.2 A Summary of Chinese Translation Study of Shakespeare’s Sonnets-1

1.2 Research Purpose-2

2． Chapter Two  Theoretical Framework of this Study-3

2.1 Brief Introduction of Chinese translation methods in poems-3

2.2 An Overview of Imagery Study and its Function in Poetry-4

2.2.1 An Overview of Imagery Study-4

2.2.2 The Function of Imagery in Poetry-4

2.3 Related Studies on Image Translation in China-4

3． Chapter Three  An Overview of Representative Imagery in Shakespeare Sonnets-5

3.1 Humanism Background and its Influence on the Imagery-5

3.2 Types of Imagery in Shakespeare’s Sonnets-6

3.2.1 The Natural Imagery in Shakespeare’s Sonnets-6

3.2.2 The Social Imagery in Shakespeare’s Sonnets-6

3.3 Features of Imagery in Shakespeare’s Sonnets-6

4． Chapter Four Comparative Studies on the Imagery Translation in Shakespeare’s Sonnets-7

4.1 Shared Imagery and Corresponding Translations Analyzed-7

4.1.1 “Summer” Imagery and its Translations-7

4.1.2 “Eye of Heaven” Imagery and its Translations-8

4.1.3 “Eyes” Imagery and its Translations-9

4.2 Culture-Specific Imagery and Corresponding Translations Analyzed-9

4.2.1 Imagery of Religious Concepts and Beliefs-10

4.2.2 Imagery of Specific Climate-11

5． Conclusion-12

6． References-13