The excerpt from Rostand’s Cyrano refers to when the witty knight re-translates a simple sentence into twenty different versions, warning the young man offending him that without talent and knowledge, a simple remark fails. Translations of Shakespeare abound in Hungary, due to a cultic attitude, o ften resulting in double canonicity if translated by a national poet like Arany. The study discusses what problems present-day re-translations face, from canonicity to the translator’s bias. It examines contextual, stylistic and dramaturgical issues in László Márton’s 2009 Othello, Negro of Venice, compared to other contemporary re-translations, concluding, with reference to a new Hungarian edition of the Sonnets, that translator’s talent and scholar’s knowledge should be combined for best results.

The excerpt from Rostand’s Cyrano refers to when the witty knight re-translates a simple sentence into twenty different versions, warning the young man offending him that without talent and knowledge, a simple remark fails. Translations of Shakespeare abound in Hungary, due to a cultic attitude, o ften resulting in double canonicity if translated by a national poet like Arany. The study discusses what problems present-day re-translations face, from canonicity to the translator’s bias. It examines contextual, stylistic and dramaturgical issues in László Márton’s 2009 Othello, Negro of Venice, compared to other contemporary re-translations, concluding, with reference to a new Hungarian edition of the Sonnets, that translator’s talent and scholar’s knowledge should be combined for best results.