Holding as ‘twere the mirror up to the text: modern English translations for accessible Shakespeare

This article investigates the removal of barriers impeding communication as applied to modern editions of Shakespeare, where textual interventions render the plays (more) accessible to contemporary readers. The study will, therefore, outline the role of translation in facilitating access to the texts and will focus on how language, English in this case, can be (re)written to enable constituencies who might otherwise be challenged or deterred by linguistic difficulty. The first section will outline current research on “Easy Language” production with examples from campaign groups promoting greater language accessibility. This will be followed by the specific challenges posed by Shakespearean texts for modern readerships. After a short introduction to interface studies, the paper will introduce references to retranslation, intralingual translation and paratextual elements and their relevance to the question at hand. The second half of the paper will consist in the case study: four different modern versions of The Merchant of Venice will be surveyed, including a review of the declared goals of each publication. Two short excerpts from the play alongside their modern renditions will be included and discussed before the concluding remarks.