A Study On Gu Zhengkun's Translation Of Shakespeare's Sonnets-From Perspective Of Theory Of Equivalent Effect

According to statistics, there are now more than ten complete Chinese versions of Shakespeare's sonnets in the country. Generally, readers can merely know what is said in the original but fail to have an adequate aesthetic enjoyment of their poetic beauty as most of the versions, apart from the different strategies and yardsticks or criteria adopted by the translators, give priority to accuracy rather than acceptability. To make the things worse, some versions challenge readers'patience as they are severely Europeanized or pidginized in language and hard to understand. In this light, Gu Zhengkun's translation of Shakespeare's sonnets published in the 1990s, in contrast with other versions, distinguishes itself for its higher readability and stronger poetic flavor as it pivots on readers'response and focuses on"equivalent effect". It has taken into adequate consideration the differences between languages and poetic forms as well as the aesthetic orientations of readers from different cultural contexts. The translator has fully exploited the merits of the Chinese language by borrowing the diction and aesthetic rhetoric from Chinese classical poetry. Besides, his version is the closest to the refined and graceful style and the verve or spirit of the original poetry. Moreover, in translating some of the sonnets, he has applied the"ci and qu style", an innovative approach that is contributive to the translation of metrical English poetry into Chinese.Gu Zhengkun's translation of Shakespearean sonnets is to a great extent in line with functional-equivalence translation based on the principle of equivalent effect put forward by Eugene Nida. It is true that Nida's theory of equivalent effect has invited extensive criticisms in recent decades. However, it must be pointed out that some criticisms arise from the abuses and misinterpretations of his theory, some so exaggerating its flaws unfairly as to completely invalidate it. To be impartial, although the principle of equivalent effect is not a golden rule for all kinds of translation, it is highly applicable for translating that is targeted at common readers who read for literary reasons. In terms of translation of poetic works, the author of the thesis believes that both formal equivalence and functional equivalence have their respective merits and demerits, the former being more applicable for the audiences who read for academic study while the latter being more acceptable for those who read poetry mainly for literary enjoyment since functional-equivalence translation seeks for corresponding or similar aesthetic appeal. Most Chinese versions of Shakespearean sonnets are more oriented on formal equivalence, mainly accounting for their low readability and poor poetic flavor. Contrarily, Gu's version is mainly centered on functional equivalence and has therefore achieved higher literary value. Its success proves the applicability of the theory of equivalent effect in translation of poetry and the efforts of the translator provide a valuable guideline for the treatment of poetic forms, poetic language and figures of speech in translating English poems into Chinese.The present thesis consists of four chapters. Chapter One is a general introduction to the Chinese translations of Shakespeare's sonnets. Chapter Two surveys chronologically the translation of English poetry into Chinese and reviews some debates and theoretical assumptions on poetry translation at home and overseas. Chapter Three analyzes Nida's theory of equivalent effect and its implications in translation of poetry. Chapter Four studies Gu's translation of Shakespeare's sonnets from the perspective of equivalent effect in terms of poetic forms, language and figures of speech by means of comparison and contrast with Tu An's and Liang Zongdai's versions. Its flaws as well as achievements are summarized in the end.