TRAGÉDIE DE SHAKESPEARE

William Allen, 4, Brydges Street, Covent Garden. W.C. Prix Is.

" It is a noble and heroic enterprise, in its way, this daring foray of an accomplished Frenchman beyond the borderland of English poetry — in that awful realm of tragedy, iu which the genius of Shakespeare moves with a power as sublime as that of ^schylus, and as pathetic as that of Sophocles. ' Macbeth ' is, perhaps, the most potent test that could be applied to the capaeity of any French scholar as a translator of the dramas of Shakespeare. It is as a test in that way — the experimentum crucis — what that early problem of Eiiclid, so drea'ded by the dunce, is to the aspiring student in matheraatics. Once past that Rubicon in safety, and the région of conquest spreads forth comparatively smooth and fair before the adventurous translator. Upon the manner in which the Chevalier de Châtelain has traversed this perilous pass we may.very reasonably offer him what we hereby freely do venture to offer him, our earnest and cordial félicitations. It is another and a very grateful peace-offering between the two allied nations — another means of amicably bridging across tlie channel, and bringing the two races doser and more intimately together in their sympathies. The work undertaken hère in thèse five marvellous acts of the Shakesperian tragedy of 'Macbeth' is such, that we comraend the artist labourer to persévère in the same grand direction in which he is already so far advanced — not to rest contented with the dignity of being translator of 'Macbeth,' but daringly to aspire to the greater glory yet of being the translator of Shakespeare. More than one French version of England's — the world's greatest dramatist, has of course already appeared. Yet may we assert with tolerable confidence that the way is still open to the Chevalier de Châtelain ; for not one of his predecessors in tliis particular has achieved a success that need cause hùn any anxiety in assuming to hiraself the rank of a rival and competitor." — The Sun, 4^th June, 1862.

" Seldom, if ever, has the art of translation reached a higher point, been accomplished with more élégance and fidelity, or more happily succeeded in preserving the interest and merits of the original, than in the hands of tlie Chevalier de Châtelain. We hâve had, at varions timcs, the pleasurc of drawing attention to several of the productions of this charming writer. Amongst others, his translation of Chaucer's ' Canterbury Taies ' (which should be possessed by every admirer of the great poet), and also that of the ' Monks of Kilcrea,' a less prétentions effort, but in our opinion incomparably the most exquisite of his translations, in which the nobleness, the grâce, and the pathos of the French rendering more than equals the beauty of the very charming original. în the work before us, however, the Chevalier de Châtelain has undertaken a more ditficult task.

" Macbeth is, he says, ' la seule Trag(5die de Shakespeare entièrement jfmable devant un public Français. Two reasons, he adds, hâve led him to attempt its translation. First, to render the représentation of it possible on the French Stage. Secondly, to render it accessible to

Frenchmen who caniiot read English. M. de Châtelain hassucceeded in both his purposes. Ile has produced a translation, which must make Macbeth not only possible, but appréciable on the French Stage, and wliich, if adopted, will go far to popularise our great dramatist in France. The same may be said of it, as introducing this noble tragedy to those of his countrymen who do not know English. For those who do know English, it" is perhaps impossible for any French translation of Shakespeare to be thoroughly satisfactory. We take, at random, the scène which announces to Macdutf the massacre of his family, and Malcom's attempted consolation : —

" Those slight extracts may serve to show at once how well M. de Châtelain has performed his task, and how difficult a task it is. The translation is not from the old éditions, but from Mr. T. H. Lacy's, the translator being désirons of giving the play as it was performed at the Princess's under Mr. Charles Kean. It is written in the Chevalier's own peculiar style, a style so différent from the ordinary modem 'Parisian' French, and for some reason so peculiarly charming to the English reader. M. de Chatelain's French is terser, stronger, and richer than that of other modem French writers. It is classical in brevity, and at the same time he does not scruple to avail himself of obsolète words, or to coin new expressions. We fuUy enter into his own defence of himself on this head.

' Bien fou,' says he, with charming indignation, ' serait l'auteur qui s'imposerait la tâche ingrate de n'employer que les seuls mots qui se trouvent au Dictionnaire de l'Académie.'

" We sincerely wish to M. de Châtelain ail the popularity which he so richly deserves at the hands of Englishmen." — The Era, 22 June, 1862.

" In rendering 'Macbeth' into French, the translator has had to contend with difficulties of no ordinary magnitude. For one thing, blank verse is unknown to French poetic art, and hence the Chevalier has been under the necessity of tuming our great poet's glorious iambics into rhyme. For another thing, it never could be possible to convey the strength of some of Shakespeare's marvellous expressions into another longue, inasmuch as that strength often dépends upon the peculiarities of our English idiom. But in spite of every difficulty, M. de Châtelain has succeeded beyond ail expectation, his work is a triumph of translation, and if (as it is to be hoped he will) he gives himself to the task of translatingthe entire works of Shakespeare, we venture to predict, and we think we may do so with safety, that, as in the présent instance, he will far outstrip every competitor.

" Of course it would be unfair in a translation to look for ail the nerve and force of the original ; and hère we find ourselves at issue with some of M. de Chatelain's critics, who hâve expected him to perform an impossibility, and hâve taken no pains to conceal their chagrin and disappointment. It is sufficient for us that the Chevalier has doue what few trarihlators couUl hâve done at ail, and we doubt if any so well as he ; that he has encountered great difficulties and conciuered them ; that there is not one weak Une in his book ; and that he has succeeded in preserving some of Shakespeare's most recondite meanings, and making them palpable to a French reader.

" We trust the work mav meet in France with that popularity which it 80 richly deserves, anfl be the means of adding fresh laurels to the brow of thÎH highly-gifted and distinguishcd mari. (Uv\s.''—The Poetic Mfigazinf, Hcjitpnihcr, 1802.

Pvhlié en 1861.