Avarice and Humor in Plautus’ Comedy The Pot of Gold:

Translation Procedures and Equivalent Effects

Authors

  • Katrin Iakimova-Zheleva Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14232/suc.2022.3.135-146

Keywords:

translation studies, ancient literature, ancient comedy, Plautus, humor, Bulgarian translation

Abstract

The paper searches for some textual occurrences regarding the distinctive Plautine humor with its prevalent linguistic aspect and particularly wordplays and phrases concerning the concept of avarice in his comedy The Pot of Gold. By exploring some specific examples, the text brings forward techniques of translation for rendering a comic effect in the first full translation (1915) of the play in Bulgarian by A. D. Pironkov. The purpose of the analysis is to determine whether the translation methods used ensure the preservation of Plautus’ comic effect. Some linguistic characteristics of humor are presented based on Cicero’s categorization of types of humor. A brief explanation is given of a possible pragmatic instrumentarium for producing humorous impact for a new audience.

Author Biography

Katrin Iakimova-Zheleva, Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”

is a PhD student at the Department of Classical Philology, Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski” in Bulgaria. Her dissertation thesis is entitled Bulgarian Translations of Roman Comedy: Translation Strategies and Procedures for Transferring Humor. She has got her master’s degree in Ancient culture and literature from the same university. Her main fields of interest cover translation studies, linguistics, classical languages and ancient culture and history.

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Published

2023-05-22

How to Cite

Iakimova-Zheleva, K. (2023). Avarice and Humor in Plautus’ Comedy The Pot of Gold:: Translation Procedures and Equivalent Effects. Sapiens Ubique Civis, 3, 135–146. https://doi.org/10.14232/suc.2022.3.135-146

Issue

Vol. 3 (2022): Sapiens ubique civis III

Section

Articles