The ministry of Higher and Secondary Special Education of the republic of Uzbekistan
«The place of «Macbeth» among Shakespeare’s tragedies»
Gulistan 2008
The Aims of the Qualification work are:
1. To find out the place of «Macbeth» among Shakespeare’ tragedies. To see what are the characteristic features of the play.
2. How the Uzbek translators Sadulla Akhmad and Jamol Kamol could reproduce Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s characters.
3. What should be done to improve the state improving the quality of translations.
4. What are our Summaries and Suggestions of the theme.
1. The Tragedy of «Macbeth»
1.1 Macbeth in Shakespeare’s activity
In the Tragedy of «Macbeth» Shakespeare tells us how a powerful and ambitious Scottish than Macbeth who had distinguished himself in the service of the country by crushing internal and foreign enemies aspires to the throne of Scotland. Taking advantage of king Duncan’s visit to his castle he supported and incited by his wife murders the king and ascends the throne. His reign is a chain of crimes and cruelties. Suspected of murder and hated both by nobles and the people, Macbeth, in order to maintain his power, commits one atrocious act after another, murders innocent people and turns his country into a realm of arbitrary power and despotic cruelty. Meanwhile the opposing camp collects its forces.
At the and of tragedy Macbeth, followed by a handful of adherents is confronted by a great, mighty fighting man who in general is called an army headed by Malcolm, the son of the murdered king. In the battle Macbeth is killed and the rightful heir ascends the throne. Macbeth is a complicated and contradictory character. Courageous and clever, he becomes the prey of ambitious thoughts encouraged by his wife Lady Macbeth. Ambition blended with a longing for power, drives Macbeth to crime.
The Scottish local coloring and the mysterious atmosphere of the old legendary tale about Macbeth is rendered more strikingly by the famous «wit-scene».
The witches give shape to Macbeth’s own secret thoughts. He lends an eager ear to their prophecy and their words sink deep into his memory.
The witches in Macbeth symbolize the evils, perfidy and ill-will that exist in the world and in Macbeth’s own self.
In «Macbeth» Shakespeare shows that tyrants and oppressors, strong as they may seem, are doomed to defeat and failure. Their defeat is determined by the masses of, the people refusing to give them their support and rising in arms against them. Even the native woods and mountains protest against the crimes of the despots and help these who stand who fight against them.
The purpose of these papers is to give and explain, in the simplest way, the text of one of Shakespeare’s complicated plays. The text itself is complete: notes and a glossary have been added to help the reader to understand the play. To get the greatest pleasure from it, he will need to learn something about the background of the play and the age in which it was written and perhaps about Shakespeare himself, for example, or about drama as an art but his first duty is to understand, to realize the main essence of what the characters are saying and doing, and why they say and do these things.
Two Scottish generals, Macbeth and Banquo, while riding home after victorious battle against an army of rebels, are met by three witches. These foretell that Macbeth shall be king of Scotland and Banquo the father of many kings. Macbeth is strongly influenced by their words, and his wife gives him so much encouragement that he is persuaded to murder a Duncan the king of Scotland, while he is a guest at their castle. Macbeth is now the most powerful man in the kingdom, and takes the throne. But he feels his position unsure, and suspects those around him; this drives him to the murder of Banquo, whose ghost haunts him.
For the second time, Macbeth sees the witches who warn him against the nobleman Macduff, but nevertheless persuade him to go on by telling him that «none of woman born» can harm him, and that no one will defeat him «till Birnam forest come to Dunsinane» Macduff has mean while gone to England to help in collecting an army to fight Macbeth, and in his absence his family is murderer by order of Macbeth.
Lady Macbeth, much disturbed in her mind, walks in her sleep, and speaks again her part in the crimes she has committed. She dies while a force, led on by Duncan’s son Malcolm, and with English support, is besieging Macbeth’s castle. The king realizes that his positions desperate, but never loses courage, even when he finds that the withes words have deceived him. And he is killed in hand – to – hand fighting by Macduff. Malkolm then becomes king of Scotland, and it should be so, as the justice should be established only when the norms of the society are followed. Like all poets, Shakespeare employed language in a way which is not usual for the making of direct statements in prose. A great deal of what he wrote is in fact not prose but verse. Prose is used for the humbler and comic characters, while the nobler ones use verse.
2. The main part
2.1 Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s characters
Askad Mukhtor – is people’s writer of Uzbekistan one of the great Uzbek authors. He is known not only as a well – known writer, he is famous for his rich poetry too. So is he in the field of translation. He admires Shakespeare and right he is when states «Macbeth» as a work of a genius. He considers «Macbeth» a modern tragedy which nowadays sounds more contemporary up to date, though it was created almost 400 years go to be more exact – 394 years (Асқад Мухтор. Да. асар. Ушбу фожеа таржимасига ёзилган «Оқ йўл» сифатида қаъбул қилиш мумкин буни.) Вильям Шекспмрю Макбет. Ташкент. Ўзбекистон. ЯКСМ марказий комитети «Ёш гвардия» нашриёти 1987.
Macbeth is a great warrior, brave and we, hear about him at the beginning of the tragedy, here the blooding badly captain tells his deeds in the Battlefield as Duncan – king of Scotland wants to find out the winner of the battle Malkolm asked the captain (by the way the latter saved Malkolm from captivity). Here is the captain’s report about the revolt the newest most recent state i.e. the latest state of the battle.
Doubtful it stood,
As too spent swimmers, that do cling together
And choke their art The merciless Macdonwald
(Worthy to, be a rebel, for to that
The multiplying villainies of nature
Do swarm upon him) from the western isles
Of Kernes and Gallowglasses is supplied;
And fortune, on his damed quarrel smiled.
Showed like rebel’s whore: but all’s too weak For brave Macbeth (well he reserves that name), Distaining Fortune, with his brandished steel, which smoked with bloody execution, like Valour’s minion, carved out his passage, till he faced the slave;
Which ne’er shook hands, nor bade farewell to him Till he unseamed him from the nave to the chaps, And fixed his, bead upon our battlements.
Duncan O valiant cousin! Worthy gentlemen! (I. II. 3–5 p)
2.1.1 Jamol Kamol’s translation
In Uzbek these lines have two translation versions. One of theme was done by Jamol Kamol and the next by Sadulla Ahmad. (Sadulla Ahmad’s translation is published in 1987 in «Ёш гвардия»publishing house in Tashkent. As the base for this translation he used «Macbeth» Russian translation is published in «Hudojestvennaya literatura» Publishing House. Moscow 1967). Before introducing one more Uzbek translation of the afforested passage we want to mention that the performer of «Macbeth» was Boris Pasternak. Sadulla Ahmad used his translation text (Boris Pasternak’s translation are still considered very nicely done, though they were translated long ago, such is his merit). (Вильям Шекспир. Трагедия. Перевод с английского. Издательство «Художественная литература. Москва»).
Сержант:
Икки тараф мўдтиллаётган икки ҳарифдек
Чўкаман, деб ғам чекиш йўқ, ғ ҳеч кўз очирмай
Савалвшмоқда. Макдональд ғ ку, итдай қутурди!
Хиёнатчи юрагига туғилмасданоқ,
Кўз кўрмаган тубанликлар ин қўйган экан.
Ўз олдига солиб келди оролма – орол
У мағрибдан Ирландия Найзабозларин.
Дастлаб тақдир илоҳаси-юзсиз Фартуна
Ортидан хўп ияди‑ю, қийшанглашлари
Бекор кетди! Шону шуҳрат соҳиби Макбет
Бу олқишлар ҳали камдир унинг шаънига!
Пўлат шамшир зарби билан йўлин тозалаб,
Кўзига қон қайнаб келган интиқом янглиғ
Пайдо бўлди хиёнаткор олдида бирдан!
Ҳурмат билан қўлларини сиқиб турмади,
Видо айтиб, аччиқғаччиқ хўлашмади ҳам.
Қилични бир серман ила бошини кесдиғю
Туғ учига қолпоқ қилиб қўндириб қўйди!
And now listen to Duncan’s valme concerning Macbeth’s courage.
Дункан:
Бизнинг жасур қондошимиз! Номус тимсоли!
It seems to us that is necessary to address the Russian text, it served as a base for both of the Uzbek translators: How let us see how these lines are caught by Jamol Kamol:
Сержант:
Еще не выяснилось, чья возьмет.
Противники – как два пловца, которым
Борьба мешает двигаться в воде.
Безжалостьный Макдональд, сочетавший
В себе все низости бунтовщика,
Набрал отряд ирландских копьеносцев
И поднял западные острова.
Судьба старалась поддержать повстанца,
Но ничего поделать не могла.
Храбрец Макбет (он назван так по праву)
Пробил себе отважно путь мечом,
Дымившимся кровавым воздаяньем,
И, став с изменником лицом к лицу,
Руки не жал, прощальных слов не тратил,
Но голову ему с размаху снес
И водрузил ее на частоком
Дункан:
Наш храбрый родич! Части образец!
(Вильям Шекспир. Трагедии. Сонеты. Перевод с английского. Издательство «Художественная литература». Москва. 1968. стр. 480–562).[1]
Macbeth himself dominates the drama: the play is his for it is, the story of his vise and fall. Before he first appears he is spoken of as brave and noble, and Duncan willingly honours him as a trusted lord; he calls him «valiant cousin» and «worthy gentleman». But his character, like the day he speaks of when we first see him, is «foul and fair» and his figure is truly tragic,for he is a man, not wholly bad, against whom the forces of evil are too strong, and their temptations too attractive:
He is ambitious, and the witches he suddenly comes upon when he first appears in the play are an image of the evil forces which encourage this ambition. He lusts for power and they prophesy he will be king. To Macbeth these prophecies can be neither good nor bad; for if bad; how could they so soon begin to come true? And if good, why do his thoughts so soon turn to the idea of murdering King Duncan and taking his place on the throne of Scotland? Throughout the play Macbeth continues to give serious thought to the moral aspects of his actions, and he is in no sense an unfeeling willain without conscience or sense of nobility. This is shown when he wants to talk over with Banquo the prophecy of the witches:
Think upon what hath chanced;
and at more time,
The interim having wighed it, let us speak
Our free hearts each to other.
(I.III. 153–155)
Макбет:
Сен бу ерда ўтганларни пухта ўйлаб кўр.
Икковлашиб, ҳушимихз сал жойига тушгач,
Ҳаммасини келишамиз очиқчасига. (I.III. 21 бет)
It is felt in many other places, leading him to an expression of the condition of damnation: thinking of the consequences of his crimes he says, he will not worry about, what might happen, to him, in the next world so long as he is granted peace of mind in this:
Macbeth:
If it were done when, it is done, then’t were well
If were done quickly: if the, assassination
Could trammel up the consequence and catch
With his Surcease success, that but this blow
Might be the be-all and the end – all here…
We’d jump the life to come.
But here upon this bank and shoal of time, We’d jump the life to come, _ But in theses cases,
(I–VII. 1–7)
Макбет:
of damnation: thinking of consequences of his crimes he says he will not worry about, what might happen, to him, in the next world so long as he is granted peace of mind in this:
Macbeth:
If it were done when, it is done, then’t were well
If were done quickly: if the, assassination
Could trammel up the consequence and catch
With his surcease success; that but this blow.
Might be the be-all and the end-all here…
We’d jump the life to come.
But here upon this bank and shoal of time,
We’d jump the life to come, – But in these cases,
(I.VII. 1–7)
Макбет:
Добро б удар, и делу бы конец,
И с плеч домой! Минуты бы не медлил,
Когда бы вся трудность заключалась в том,
Чтоб скрыть следы и чтоб достичь удачи,
Я б здесь, на этой отмели времен,
Пожертвовал загробным воздаяньем.
Но нас возмездье ждет и на земле.
(I.VII. 496 p.)
Before passing to the analysis of this extract = passage want the reader’s to pay attention to the following; In the original, I mean in the stage direction. We have the word hatboys in Russian it is given as» Трубы», in Uzbek consecutively as «Бурғу». Server = chief waiter = кравчийтовабоши;divers = various несколькослуг = таом кўтарган хизматкорлар.
The first sentences of the passage should be understood in this way; «If it were done»,» done quickly» – If it (the murder) were completely finished when we do it, then it would be a good thing if it were (we do) (it) «done quickly». In Uzbek the meaning these first lines are understood properly and has the following order:
Mакбет:
Бир зарб билан ҳаммасидан соқит бўлардим, бир дақиқа, бир лаҳза ҳам қараб турмасдим. Токи тахтга эришмоқнинг бсхтликлари фақат изни яширмоқдан иборат бўлса! Қулай фурсат қўлин чўзган худди шу дамда, у дунёнинг бор роҳатин қурбон қилардим. Асср қасос кутар бизни ер юзида ҳам:«If the assassination, his surcease success» if the actual murder could catch up = trammel up the consequences and could come to a final result with Duncan’s death if would be a good thing to do it quickly «that but this blow» – «If only this blow» «the be-all and the end all» – the existence and conclusion in itself, but leads to other things. «But here – even here, i.e. in this world only». «The bank and shoal of time, shoal – a narrow strip of land between water». The image is of life as a narrow bank thrusting acto the great seas of enternity. The word jump is, used as risk as «risk». The life to come – «the life in the next world after death», and what might happen there. «In these cases» – «in situation such as these».
Here we must state one more fact. In the original the text is given = supplied with nice commentaries. These help any translator (not only Russian translators), even Uzbek translators as the meaning of each word, phrase or clauses are explained so that the essence of the lines be more understandable. It is very nice as to understand Shakespeare after more than 400 years is really difficult. It is difficult not only for foreign readers but for the English as well. As the meaning of several lexical units, word combinations, expressions have gone various changes.