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Chapter 6. Judaisation in the first Hebrew translation of Romeo and Juliet

  • Lily Kahn
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<i>Romeo and Juliet</i> in European Culture
This chapter is in the book <i>Romeo and Juliet</i> in European Culture

Abstract

Ram and Jael (Salkinson 1878), the earliest Hebrew version of Romeo and Juliet, is a highly domesticating translation containing numerous Jewish cultural elements. This is attributable to the fact that the translation formed part of an ideologically loaded Jewish Enlightenment initiative to establish a European-style literary canon in Hebrew and reflecting Jewish values at a time when the language was still almost solely a written medium prior to its late nineteenth-century re-vernacularisation in Palestine. This chapter discusses the unusual sociolinguistic background to Ram and Jael and analyses its main Judaising features, which include the treatment of non-Jewish names; holidays and rituals; establishments; oaths and expressions; mythological figures; and foreign languages, as well as the insertion of biblical verses.

Abstract

Ram and Jael (Salkinson 1878), the earliest Hebrew version of Romeo and Juliet, is a highly domesticating translation containing numerous Jewish cultural elements. This is attributable to the fact that the translation formed part of an ideologically loaded Jewish Enlightenment initiative to establish a European-style literary canon in Hebrew and reflecting Jewish values at a time when the language was still almost solely a written medium prior to its late nineteenth-century re-vernacularisation in Palestine. This chapter discusses the unusual sociolinguistic background to Ram and Jael and analyses its main Judaising features, which include the treatment of non-Jewish names; holidays and rituals; establishments; oaths and expressions; mythological figures; and foreign languages, as well as the insertion of biblical verses.

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. List of contributors vii
  4. Introduction 1
  5. Chapter 1. Heavenly eloquence 25
  6. Chapter 2. Juliet’s balcony 37
  7. Chapter 3. Romeo and Juliet in Germany 61
  8. Chapter 4. Romeo and Juliet on the French stage 77
  9. Chapter 5. Romeo and Juliet in Spain 101
  10. Chapter 6. Judaisation in the first Hebrew translation of Romeo and Juliet 119
  11. Chapter 7. Giulietta e Romeo 139
  12. Chapter 8. Star-crossed lovers in Sweden 159
  13. Chapter 9. Romeo and Juliet  – The East Side Story 177
  14. Chapter 10. “Unveiling” Romeo and Juliet in Spain 197
  15. Chapter 11. Romeo and Juliet in British culture 227
  16. Chapter 12. A festival blockbuster 247
  17. Chapter 13. What’s in a stamp? 263
  18. Chapter 14. “In fair [Europe], where we lay our scene” 283
  19. Chapter 15. A selective timeline of Romeo and Juliet in European culture 301
  20. Index 321
https://doi.org/10.1075/sec.1.07kah

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. List of contributors vii
  4. Introduction 1
  5. Chapter 1. Heavenly eloquence 25
  6. Chapter 2. Juliet’s balcony 37
  7. Chapter 3. Romeo and Juliet in Germany 61
  8. Chapter 4. Romeo and Juliet on the French stage 77
  9. Chapter 5. Romeo and Juliet in Spain 101
  10. Chapter 6. Judaisation in the first Hebrew translation of Romeo and Juliet 119
  11. Chapter 7. Giulietta e Romeo 139
  12. Chapter 8. Star-crossed lovers in Sweden 159
  13. Chapter 9. Romeo and Juliet  – The East Side Story 177
  14. Chapter 10. “Unveiling” Romeo and Juliet in Spain 197
  15. Chapter 11. Romeo and Juliet in British culture 227
  16. Chapter 12. A festival blockbuster 247
  17. Chapter 13. What’s in a stamp? 263
  18. Chapter 14. “In fair [Europe], where we lay our scene” 283
  19. Chapter 15. A selective timeline of Romeo and Juliet in European culture 301
  20. Index 321
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