Quote:
Originally Posted by BookCat
I agree with Harry. I prefer to read the original text. Something from the 18th century should be no problem for anyone used to literature of that century: Robinson Crusoe, anything by Henry Fielding, Moll Flanders etc. These are classics which most well-read people have read.
Chaucer does need some translation, but I prefer to also see the original (possible in pbooks which have the original on the left and a translation on the right).
Imagine the cheek of translating Shakespeare!
A few months ago I bought the hardback of the RSC's Shakespeare Complete Works and was horrified to find some words translated. In The Tempest, Ariel uses the term "Bermoothes" which has been changed to "Bermuda"; other words have been weakened by making them more modern. I bought the book because it's single column and has a slightly larger font than most Complete Works.
The point being that I dislike interfering with the original unless, like middle English, it's absolutely necessary.
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I have a copy of the Oxford Shakespeare myself. It reads very well.
