During the process of translation of the text, I realized that parts of it featured very different styles. That was common in Shakespeare’s texts, but I suspected that, besides passages of the presumed original Shakespearean text, there could be texts of different origins.

So, before translating, I started to research the origin of “suspicious” parts of the play. There, I found out that part of it had been written by Shakespeare himself, passages of “The Two Noble Kinsmen” and “The Gentlemen of Verona” that either the authors or Mr. Lewis Theobald, in his adaptation “The Double Falsehood”, had inserted in the text, in order to make it look more like a Shakespearean text.

I have also found a poem by John Fletcher; a passage of “The Tragedy of Rollo, Duke of Normandy”, also by John Fletcher, and a passage of “Valentinian, a tragedy”, by John Earl of Rochester. Those references were important to determine the “spirit” of the play I was translating: a mix of references, based on the works and style of the Bard.

Then, I started the translation. Some passages featured a very quotidian language; others, in verse, presented rhymes, metric and regular rhythm. I have found free verses as well as iambic pentameters, and I tried to respect them as well as possible. But, finally, I realized that, besides respecting the original character of the language, some passages should be perfectly understandable and almost quotidian, while others should present an artificial taste, in the sense that they had been “built” by the writer, and had to distinguish from the others by their artificial construction.

The next step was to give the text to Reinaldo Maia, who read and adapted it. Long parts of the original text had been kept. I only had to adequate what had been created by him to the spirit of the text I had translated.

Finally, the text was presented to the actors. I watched some rehearsals and suggested changes in order to “bring the text to their mouths”, respecting the differences of style in each part of it. I then heard their suggestions and, after having discussed them with the director, authorized the changes.

Fernando Paz, translator