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“Shagi / Steps” the Journal of the SASH

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SHAGI/STEPS 6(3)

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Metatheatrical elements of M. de Cervantes’ interludes in Ostrovsky’s translation

O. A. Svetlakova
St. Petersburg State University (Russia, St. Petersburg)
N. S. Nastina

DOI: 10.22394/2412-9410-2020-6-3-59-71

Keywords: interludes, Cervantes, metatheatricality, translation, A. N. Ostrovsky, theater, metatext, universal realia, character

Abstract: Beside the famous Don Quixote, Miguel de Cervantes also wrote interludes which were published in 1615 in the anthology Eight comedies and eight interludes. The article considers the translation of these one-act plays into the Russian language by A. N. Ostrovsky, who, while translating leading European playwrights, was going through Spanish literature looking for plays that reflected not national Castilian life but rather universal works that reflected the everyday life of representatives of any people. The article analyzes the translation of interludes in prose and verse, focuses on elements of Spanish folklore (dance, music, folk songs) and their adaptation by the translator for the Russian reader and spectator. Ostrovsky, who was a founder of the Russian national theater, worked on interludes not only as a translator, but also as a director, trying not to miss those nuances that, while not essential to the text, could be crucial to the plays’ production on the Russian stage. Thus, the stage directions often contain explanations of certain concepts specific to Spanish life, society, legislation and so on. Special attention is paid to metatheatricality — the fact of speaking about the theater in the theater, when the dramatic text exists within itself. It is with the help of metatheatrical elements that Cervantes’ characters express the author’s thoughts about the world of the stage, and Ostrovsky in his translations managed to find and show us that fine line between the fictional and the real, on which theatrical action artfully balances.

To cite this article: Svetlakova, O. A., Nastina, N. S. (2020). Metatheatrical elements of M. de Cervantes’ interludes in Ostrovsky’s translation. Shagi/Steps, 6(3), 59–71. DOI: 10.22394/2412-9410-2020-6-3-59-71.