A New Interpretation of the Blue Lights in Richard III: Functions of the Blue Hue in Yūshi Odashima’s Translation
A New Interpretation of the Blue Lights in Richard III: Functions of the Blue Hue in Yūshi Odashima’s Translation

Author(s): Ayami Oki-Siekierczak
Subject(s): Theatre, Dance, Performing Arts, Cultural history, Theoretical Linguistics, Applied Linguistics, Studies of Literature, Philology, Theory of Literature, British Literature
Published by: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego
Keywords: colour in theatre; Richard III; translation of colour in Japan; Yūshi Odashim; Japanese reception of Shakespeare
Summary/Abstract: In Shakespeare’s art, visual perception is entwined with touch, taste, hearing, and smell: the colour terms stimulate other senses, recalling their symbolic meanings in both ‘colourful’ plays (such as "Romeo and Juliet" and "The Winter’s Tale") and those dominated by bleak and darkish hues (such as "Richard III" and "Hamlet"). The paper surveys Shakespeare’s contemporary perception of colours so that we can understand more clearly what his colour usage means in the play, describes Shakespeare’s use of colour in "Richard III" and specifies what kinds of colour appear at which points in the play. It also covers the translation of colour in Japan, while particularly focusing on blue in Odashima’s 1983 translation, comparing it with other important translations in the history of the Japanese reception of Shakespeare.

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