Ibsen for the twenty-first century

Janet Garton

pp. 291-307

in: Jean Boase-Beier, Lina Fisher, Hiroko Furukawa (eds), The Palgrave handbook of literary translation, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan, 2018

Abstract

Garton is involved in Penguin's new edition of Ibsen's plays both as consultant and as translator. The aim is to provide a reference edition for students, academics and people in the theatre; it will be a reading rather than an acting edition. These translations pay closer attention to the original than most modern acting editions. On the other hand, Ibsen's plays were written both to be read and to be performed; these are texts for human voices. This involves capturing rhythm, pitch, beat, and the changes of power between characters. In short, the aim is to combine fidelity with speakability and readability. The case study examines the process of creating translations based on these guidelines, and the extent to which they proved realizable in practice.

Cited authors

Ibsen Henrik