Interlingual authorial interpretation of Shakespeare in the Ukrainian literature of the 19th-21st centuries

Abstract

This study delves into the diverse and evolving Ukrainian interpretations of Shakespearean tragedy Hamlet, Prince of Denmark (1600) from the 19th to the 21st century with particular attention to the recent versions, which prove to be the most successful due to their artistic depth and cultural resonance. Tracing a rich tradition of Ukrainian reception of Shakespeare across three centuries, the paper examines the diachronic plurality of interlingual authorial interpretations of the same time-remote Shakespearean source text, reproduced in Ukrainian by Ukrainian authors. The research highlights how Ukrainian authors-interpreters reimagined Shakespeare’s themes and characters within their own cultural and historical contexts as well as literary trends that prevailed in Ukraine in the respective centuries – Romanticism in the 19th century, Neoclassicism and Neo-Baroque in the 20th century, and Postmodernism in the 21st century. This article addresses the life and literary contributions of the Ukrainian authors-interpreters of Shakespearean works, offering insight into their individual linguistic and cognitive styles, the historical evolution of artistic forms and cultural contexts in which chronologically distant Ukrainian versions were created. Beginning with the 19th century, the analysis reveals the role of Shakespeare in shaping national identity during periods of political oppression and cultural revival. In the Soviet era of the 20th century, Ukrainian interpretations of Shakespeare frequently conveyed hidden or symbolic messages, reflecting broader struggle for intellectual and artistic freedom. The study focuses on the contemporary Ukrainian literature of the 21st century, where Shakespearean motifs are recontextualized to address modern concerns such as war, displacement, and globalization. The recent Ukrainian interpretations prove to be the most successful as they reveal how cultural and aesthetic shifts across time have shaped diverse Ukrainian adaptations of Shakespearean works. Ultimately, this study demonstrates Shakespeare’s enduring presence in Ukrainian literature and underscores the dynamic dialogue between global literary heritage and national literary development.