Translating the musical Les Misérables : a polysystemic approach

The Polysystem theory can be defined as a general model for understanding, analyzing and describing the functioning and evolution of literary systems, of which translation is one part. Developed by Itamar Even-Zohar and Gideon Toury, the Polysystem's most important contribution to Translation Studies is that it has generated a methodology. This thesis uses the Polysystem theory as an heuristic tool to analyze and describe the translations of Les Misérables (the novel) and Les Miz (the musical). Chapter 1 offers an overview of the Polysystem theory. Chapter Two discusses the socio-historical and literary context of the novel Les Misérables , as well as its critical reception. Chapter 3 compares five excerpts from two English translations of the novel, one from the 19 th century, the other from the 20 th century. Chapter 4 is primarily concerned with the theoretical difficulties involved in translating lyrics. Chapter 5 analyzes four song translations from the musical Les Miz by applying one of the concepts outlined in Chapter 4: rhythmic constraints. Chapter 6 first offers a brief history of the musical, and then discusses the place of Les Miz within the "musical Polysystem." The second half of Chapter 6 reveals how and why Les Miz was adapted to its target audience. Finally, Chapter 7 addresses two important theoretical implications: (i) the notion of adaptation; and (ii) "universal" translation norms. The thesis concludes with a critique of Toury's theory, but also outlines the positive contributions he has made to Translation Studies