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What is the relationship between Brian Friel's Translations and the "What's in a name?" quote from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet?

Brian Friel's Translations depicts the beginning of the end of the Irish language, as it focuses on the efforts of a group of English mapmakers and soldiers translating Irish place names into English. In the play, the act of translation becomes an act of existential destruction, as Friel equates the extinction of the Irish system of naming with a loss of identity. 


It's interesting indeed to compare this idea to the "What's in a name?" quote from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. This quote is spoken by Juliet in Act 2, Scene 2, and the general implication here is that a name theoretically shouldn't have much significance. More specifically, Romeo's Montague name shouldn't define him or prevent Juliet from loving him. As such, in this quote Shakespeare questions the notion that names can provide a meaningful or rigid identity.


It goes without saying that Friel would disagree with Shakespeare. Translations suggests that naming does have significance, as it imparts a particular identity that cannot be easily replicated. As such, the central relationship between the "What's in a name?" quote in Romeo and Juliet and Translations is one of disagreement, as the latter rejects the former's notion that naming is arbitrary and imparts little meaning or identity to the recipient. 

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