A Villain in Every Tongue
Richard III’s Bodily Stigma in Polish Translations of Shakespeare’s Play
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.12797/MOaP.31.2025.70.03Keywords:
Richard III, stigma in translation, translation and disability, Shakespeare in translation, disabled villain tropeAbstract
This paper discusses how nine Polish translations of William Shakespeare’s play Richard III present the protagonist’s stigmatised body and the relationship between his supposed ugliness and villainy. Firstly, I analyse the linguistic link between depravity and ‘deformity’ in the insults directed at Richard by Lady Anne and compare the imagery that the translators employ to convey her disgust. Secondly, I examine Richard’s soliloquy, in which he uses his body to justify his ruthless pursuit of power. A change over time can be observed in the translators’ depiction of Richard: while the 19th-century texts emphasise his ‘ugliness’, the later ones appear to focus on his psychology, as if more critical of the idea that ugliness determines him to be a villain.
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