Clément Camar Mercier
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Is Shakespeare better in translation?
English is my mother tongue but I have lived most of my life in France. Recently, I went to see a new production of Shakespeare's Richard III in French. For the first time in my life I realised I could actually undertsand every word. Okay, so here's the big question : Is Shakespeare simply better in translation?
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Shakespeare in French? You must be joking!
Believing you won't understand something can be an obstacle to even trying. Why didn't I feel that as I followed Richard III's opening monologue in a new production of this famous Shakespeare play in French ? Perhaps because, when you are in a theatre, you are drawn into a more-than-verbal situation. You are held in a room by a character, eye to eye, who wants you to understand what s/he is going through by any means necessary. Unless Shakespeare is simply better in translation?
