English translation of Sumarokov's Gamlet?

[Josh Wilson]

Nicole 

There does indeed - it was published in 1970 in a book called _Selected
Tragedies of A. P. Sumarokov_ Transalaters were Richard and Raymond Fortune.
Published by Northwestern University Press. 

As I happen to have the to-be-or-not-to-be speech in my files, I'll include
that below. 

Best, 


Josh Wilson
Asst. Director
The School of Russian and Asian Studies
Editor-in-Chief
Vestnik, The Journal of Russian and Asian Studies
www.sras.org
jwilson at sras.org


    To Be or Not to Be, by Sumarokov

What am I to do now?  Where am I to begin?

Is it an easy thing to cast one's love aside?
Father, Ophelia, of all names to me the dearest,
You were my happiness in other days now vanished.
Now you torment me so, now you are hard to bear;
In front of one of you I'm bound to stand in guilt
Although I love you both, I must offend one of you.
O floodgates of my eyes, restrain the tears from flowing! 
I do not seem to be equipped to face my task,
And there is no refuge for my poor distracted mind.
	(Reaches for sword)
In you alone, my sword can I find consolation,
And I entrust to heav'n a just and righteous vengeance.  
But wait., the matter's grave that lies ahead today,
My body and my soul this very hour will part.
To open up death's door and finish with my suff'ring,
Or in this world of ours to try to bear it longer?
In death I'll fall asleep, asleep Ill slumber on,
But what will be the dreams this restless night will bring?
To die, to find one's peace in death would seem so pleasant,
But what may follow that sweet sleep is unknown to us.
We know the promises of our most gracious God.
There's hope, the spirit's strong, but how the flesh is weak!
O death, O hour of woe, O dreaded final minute, 
O agony supreme, of all our woes the greatest!  
Even to think of it is torment in itself,
Is fear unspeakable even to bravest hearts!
The very name alone does cause our flesh to tremble,
And from our safe retreat returns us to confusion.  
But if our dreary life on earth had not an end,
Who would not long to end it with this peaceful sleep?
For who could long endure the pain of persecution,
Illnesses, poverty, attacks of all the stronger,
Wrongs and injustices of judges' lawlessness,
Anger, offenses, theft, betrayal of best friends,
And poison-hearted knaves who flatter those in power?
If we should just live on and on with grief forever,
Then death would be a thing most needful and desired.
But even so, alas, it fills our hearts with fear.
How frail is man before the majesty of nature!
We fear death, yet this fear will pass by in an instant.
If I should die, what would my people say of me,
Under their heavy yoke in this unhappy land?
Their songs would tell how love did vanquish Hamlet's honor,
How Hamlet's manliness became love's greatest trophy.
How I gave up my life without a glorious stand,
How from a coward's wounds I caused my blood to flow,
Blood that was meant to flow in honor for my people.
O peace of mind, alas, whom did you think to flatter?
I must not think of death when I hear duty call,
When truth makes itself known and lights my conscience path.  
My mother did not yield to thoughts of desperation,
But soon the king will work on her his machinations.
She must be warned in time of Claudius' bloody plot.
The tyrant's blood may flow, the innocent's must not.  

-----Original Message-----
From: SEELANGS: Slavic & East European Languages and Literatures list
[mailto:SEELANGS at BAMA.UA.EDU] On Behalf Of Nicole Monnier
Sent: Tuesday, November 13, 2007 2:07 AM
To: SEELANGS at BAMA.UA.EDU
Subject: [SEELANGS] English translation of Sumarokov's Gamlet?

Dear SEELANGSsty!

Does anyone know off the top of his/her head whether there exists an English
translation of Sumarokov's Gamlet? I struggle with a dim memory of such an
English text, but can't for the life of me recover any bibliographic
material attached to it (the dim memory).

Curiously,

Nicole


****************************
Dr. Nicole Monnier
Assistant Professor of Instruction
Director of Undergraduate Studies (Russian)
German & Russian Studies
428A GCB
University of Missouri
Columbia, MO 65211

phone: 573.882.3370

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