Introduction

Average consumers of culture, in Poland as elsewhere in the world, have always wanted Shakespeare to be their contemporary. In the theatre they demand language that is spontaneously comprehended (even if spoken by characters wearing doublet and hose instead of jeans), emotions that they recognise and message that can be referred to the events they care about. This is why Shakespearean translations age so quickly. Each new translation is applauded with enthusiasm, its faithfulness and artistic qualities often taken for granted. These days, still overwhelmed by the impetus of Barańczak, we are looking curiously towards Piotr Kamiński, the latest name on the long list of Polish translators (Shakespeare 2009). Academic discourse is not unaffected by this popular demand. Shakespeare studies are often dominated by the discussions about the merits and faults of texts currently staged in theatres. Few scholars are interested in the scores of renderings and stories about their composition (and, usually ephemeral, theatrical life) that have accumulated during the long years of Shakespeare's reception. Cast into oblivion as obsolete, such texts do not attract theatre directors (at all or any more), remain unknown for any reading public and rarely become objects of study. So it was a daring venture and a truly valuable gift for literary historians when, at the turn of the centuries, Anna Staniewska published her beautifully edited three-volume collection of Shakespeare's twelve plays rendered by various 20th century translators.