English retranslations of Federico García Lorca's Bodas de SangreMetaphor, symbol and culture

Abstract

Despite the increasing research on the phenomenon of retranslation and the considerable amount of literature on theatre in translation, there are still few studies that have combined these two aspects together and investigated theatre in retranslation, supported by systematic and large-scale empirical evidence. The case of the English retranslations of Bodas de sangre, Federico García Lorca’s most representative theatre piece, provides an excellent example to explore on this subject: Its first English translation in 1935, even approved by the playwright himself, was evaluated as incomprehensible by audiences. One of the problematic issues in translation is Lorca’s unique poetic theatre language composed of metaphors and symbolism that are both culture-bound and grounded in personal experience. However, English retranslations have been produced continuously and in large numbers after the first version in the following decades and until today, which makes this play the most retranslated and widely recognized theatre piece of Lorca in the English-speaking world...