“In England’s Green and Pleasant Land”: Cultural Untranslatability in the Polish Translation of Jez Butterworth’s Jerusalem Cover Image

„Czy ktoś go widział, kiedy szedł poprzez angielskie piękne wzgórza?” — kulturowa nieprzekładalność w teatrze na przykładzie Jerusalem Jeza Butterwortha
“In England’s Green and Pleasant Land”: Cultural Untranslatability in the Polish Translation of Jez Butterworth’s Jerusalem

Author(s): Aleksandra Kamińska
Subject(s): Theatre, Dance, Performing Arts, Philology, Translation Studies, British Literature
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Śląskiego
Keywords: drama translation; Jerusalem; untranslatability; Jez Butterworth;

Summary/Abstract: The article discusses cultural untranslatability in drama and its meaning for cultural transfer in theatre on the example of Jez Butterworth’s Jerusalem (2009) and its Polish translation by Krzysztof Puławski (2013). Jerusalem is full of cultural references, especially in terms of English literary and folk traditions, as well as political and social allusions, which would have influenced the Polish reception of the play. The analysis of the play’s cultural aspects is based on Edward Balcerzan’s taxonomy of untranslatability. The issues this article discusses include: the untranslatability of quotation, connotation, and language use.

  • Issue Year: 2019
  • Issue No: 39
  • Page Range: 59-68
  • Page Count: 10
  • Language: Polish