Traducción e intertextualidad en Wyrd Sisters de Terry Pratchett

Abstract

Intertextuality is present to a greater or lesser extent in all literature works. These intertextual elements can be difficult to detect and even more to translate. Terry Pratchett is noted for his rich use of intertextuality and humour. This Bachelor thesis focuses mainly on his book Wyrd Sisters and the intertextual references that concern Macbeth and Hamlet by Shakespeare. The purpose of this work is to analyse how Terry Pratchett has made use of intertextual references and what kind of references he has employed in order to examine the Spanish translation of these elements. It also focuses on the extent to which Shakespeare’s presence is exhibited in the book. In order to do so, a theoretical background on intertextuality is required. Intertextuality can be expressed through allusion, intertextual humour and parody, and the subcategories implicit verbal allusions and implicit intertextual references to source texts. The selected data is analysed under these concepts. The results show a great deal of usage of these resources. Wyrd Sisters is constructed under the parody premise with Macbeth and Hamlet as hypotexts. Allusion is present mainly by means of implicit verbal allusions. In addition, implicit intertextual references to source texts play an important part in the porpoise of connecting the book to its hypotexts. Finally, the Spanish translations show how the translator has struggled at times to maintain intertextual references, the humour elements or, in some cases, both of them. Intertextuality recognition and its translation have proved to be a difficult and challenging undertaking.