“A Tempestade” de Shakespeare em português: analisando a tradução de José Francisco Botelho

Abstract

This paper aims to analyze the most recent translation published in Brazil of the play The Tempest (2022) by William Shakespeare, translated and annotated by José Francisco Botelho. Going through each of the acts in the play, we will comment on some of the main characteristics of Botelho’s translation, highlighting passages and comparing them with excerpts from the Shakespearean text itself. Thus, we address issues of rhythm and meter, verisimilitude, metaphors and imagery constructions, humor, stylistic variations and idiomatic expressions, among others; in order to reflect upon the act of translation and the possibilities of the translated text. We conclude that Botelho’s translation is a meticulous work that makes the play, with its numerous layers, accessible to present-time Brazilian readers, demonstrating the technique, beauty, and importance of translation.