"Macbeth" in Nineteenth-Century Bengal: A Case of Conflicted Indigenization
Adaptation, a complex bilingual and bicultural process, is further problematised in a colonial scenario inflected by burgeoning nationalism and imperialist counter-oppression. Nagendranath Bose’s Karnabir (1884/85), the second extant Bengali translation of Macbeth was written after the First War of...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Lodz University Press
2013-12-01
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| Series: | Multicultural Shakespeare |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://czasopisma.uni.lodz.pl/szekspir/article/view/7703 |
| _version_ | 1811304501306458112 |
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| author | Sarbani Chaudhury Bhaskar Sengupta |
| author_facet | Sarbani Chaudhury Bhaskar Sengupta |
| author_sort | Sarbani Chaudhury |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Adaptation, a complex bilingual and bicultural process, is further problematised in a colonial scenario inflected by burgeoning nationalism and imperialist counter-oppression. Nagendranath Bose’s Karnabir (1884/85), the second extant Bengali translation of Macbeth was written after the First War of Indian Independence in 1857 and its aftermath – the formation of predominantly upper and middle class nationalist organisations that spearheaded the freedom movement. To curb anti-colonial activities in the cultural sphere, the British introduced repressive measures like the Theatre Censorship Act and the Vernacular Press Act. Bengal experienced a revival of Hinduism paradoxically augmented by the nationalist ethos and the divisive tactics of British rule that fostered communalism. This article investigates the contingencies and implications of domesticating and othering Macbeth at this juncture and the collaborative/oppositional strategies of the vernacular text vis-à-vis colonial discourse. The generic problems of negotiating tragedy in a literary tradition marked by its absence are compounded by the socio-linguistic limitations of a Sanskritised adaptation. The conflicted nature of the cultural indigenisation evidenced in Karnabir is explored with special focus on the nature of generic, linguistic and religious acculturation, issues of nomenclature and epistemology, as well as the political and ideological negotiations that the target text engages in with the source text and the intended audience. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T08:08:16Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a4a977766b5a4468ad596ffa0e92b1ea |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2300-7605 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T08:08:16Z |
| publishDate | 2013-12-01 |
| publisher | Lodz University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Multicultural Shakespeare |
| spelling | doaj.art-a4a977766b5a4468ad596ffa0e92b1ea2022-12-22T02:55:06ZengLodz University PressMulticultural Shakespeare2300-76052013-12-011025112710.2478/mstap-2013-00027703"Macbeth" in Nineteenth-Century Bengal: A Case of Conflicted IndigenizationSarbani Chaudhury0Bhaskar Sengupta1University of Kalyani, IndiaNetaji Subhas Open University, IndiaAdaptation, a complex bilingual and bicultural process, is further problematised in a colonial scenario inflected by burgeoning nationalism and imperialist counter-oppression. Nagendranath Bose’s Karnabir (1884/85), the second extant Bengali translation of Macbeth was written after the First War of Indian Independence in 1857 and its aftermath – the formation of predominantly upper and middle class nationalist organisations that spearheaded the freedom movement. To curb anti-colonial activities in the cultural sphere, the British introduced repressive measures like the Theatre Censorship Act and the Vernacular Press Act. Bengal experienced a revival of Hinduism paradoxically augmented by the nationalist ethos and the divisive tactics of British rule that fostered communalism. This article investigates the contingencies and implications of domesticating and othering Macbeth at this juncture and the collaborative/oppositional strategies of the vernacular text vis-à-vis colonial discourse. The generic problems of negotiating tragedy in a literary tradition marked by its absence are compounded by the socio-linguistic limitations of a Sanskritised adaptation. The conflicted nature of the cultural indigenisation evidenced in Karnabir is explored with special focus on the nature of generic, linguistic and religious acculturation, issues of nomenclature and epistemology, as well as the political and ideological negotiations that the target text engages in with the source text and the intended audience.https://czasopisma.uni.lodz.pl/szekspir/article/view/7703„macbeth”nagendranath bosecolonial bengaladaptationliterary and linguistic communalism |
| spellingShingle | Sarbani Chaudhury Bhaskar Sengupta "Macbeth" in Nineteenth-Century Bengal: A Case of Conflicted Indigenization Multicultural Shakespeare „macbeth” nagendranath bose colonial bengal adaptation literary and linguistic communalism |
| title | "Macbeth" in Nineteenth-Century Bengal: A Case of Conflicted Indigenization |
| title_full | "Macbeth" in Nineteenth-Century Bengal: A Case of Conflicted Indigenization |
| title_fullStr | "Macbeth" in Nineteenth-Century Bengal: A Case of Conflicted Indigenization |
| title_full_unstemmed | "Macbeth" in Nineteenth-Century Bengal: A Case of Conflicted Indigenization |
| title_short | "Macbeth" in Nineteenth-Century Bengal: A Case of Conflicted Indigenization |
| title_sort | macbeth in nineteenth century bengal a case of conflicted indigenization |
| topic | „macbeth” nagendranath bose colonial bengal adaptation literary and linguistic communalism |
| url | https://czasopisma.uni.lodz.pl/szekspir/article/view/7703 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT sarbanichaudhury macbethinnineteenthcenturybengalacaseofconflictedindigenization AT bhaskarsengupta macbethinnineteenthcenturybengalacaseofconflictedindigenization |