RUSSIAN TRANSLATIONS OF THE SONNET 105 BY WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE — SEMANTIC-AND-SENSE ANALYSIS AND A NEW INTERPRETATION

Abstract

The world value of the artistic heritage of Shakespeare and the growth in the number of Russian translations of his sonnets require an in-depth study of their meanings and symbols and semantic-and-sense analysis with a new interpretation. Understanding as a way of functioning of a literary text in readers’ mind requires the study of meanings and ideas using methods of psycholinguistics and hermeneutics. Objective. To clear the main idea of the W. Shakespeare’s sonnet 105. Material: Sonnet 105 by Shakespeare in the original and some Russian translations. Methods: semantic-and-sense analysis, comparative analysis, historical and cultural interpretation.The interpretation of the sonnets, including their Russian translations, is influenced by three versions: 1. Shakespeare wrote on the order or wanting to gain the benefits of patronage, used courteous poetic traditions and clichés and was not sincere. Sonnets are not autobiographical and do not reflect the author’s inner life. 2. Sonnets are autobiographical; reflect the author’s experiences under unclear circumstances. 3. Shakespeare loved a man, and this circumstance required to hide unconventional relations. The third version has become popular. The semantic-and-sense analysis of the sonnet 105 includes psychological and historical aspects and intertextual relations with the key lines of other sonnets, in which the author’s values are affirmed. If these statements are consistent, the so nnet te lls not about a human being. Results. Shakespeare’s sonnet 105 is a symbolic and individual poetic interpretation of the Christian idea of the Holy Trinity, which inspired the poet’s imagination. Conclusions. The sonnet 105 is treated as referring to a friend, but in fact the «hero» is a godhead. In the sonnet 105 the religious idea is not declared directly, which may be explained by the confessional contradictions in that period.