Poetical and colloquial devices in Shakespeare’s text: commenting the translation of the speech The seven ages of man

Abstract

In this paper, using as object a speech of the character Jaques in the play As you like it, we analyze the use of the Alexandrine metrical and rhythmic patterns for the translation of Shakespearean drama into Portuguese as an alternative to the traditional decasyllabic measure. This discussion includes a commentary on the rhythmical and accentual patterns of the French Alexandrine verse as a basis to re-enact equivalent forms in Portuguese, giving particular emphasis to its caesural nature and to its huge benefits on poetic tonalisation and expression. We also analyze the original text of The seven ages of man itself and other translations of the same stretch. KEYWORDS: translation, Alexandrine, cesural forms, Shakespearean drama.