Czas w Zimowej opowieści Williama Szekspira w oryginale i polskich przekładach: wybrane aspekty

Abstract

The article discusses, first of all, the dramaturgical function of the monologue delivered by Time, the Chorus, in act 4, scene 1 of The Winter’s Tale and, secondly, the role which the passage of time and the changing of seasons play in this tragicomic romance. In this latter context, selected mythological, allegorical and philosophical interpretations are presented. The next important question the paper aims to answer is how the very exceptional character of personified Time is depicted in the original text of the play and in seven Polish translations by Gustaw Ehrenberg (1871), Leon Ulrich (1877), Stanisław Rossowski (1895), Włodzimierz Lewik (1961), Bohdan Drozdowski (1978), Maciej Słomczyński (1981) and Stanisław Barańczak (1991). The comparative analysis takes into account not only the imagery but also the special verse form used by Shakespeare to suggest the more epic character of this part of his drama. It is interesting to examine the ways in which the translators dealt with all the difficulties and to notice what different possibilities of understanding the character of Time each translation offers to the Polish readers.