Critical Assessment of Poetic Imagery Translation in Nizami’s “Leili & Majnun” by James Atkinson

Subject Areas : All areas of language and translation

Forouzan Dehbashi Sharif ¹ , Bahareh Torabi ²

1 - Department of English Language, Islamic Azad University, Central Tehran Branch, Tehran, Iran
2 - Department of English Language, Islamic Azad University, Central Tehran Branch, Tehran, Iran

Received: 2017-09-03 Accepted : 2017-12-24 Published : 2017-10-01

Keywords: Descriptive dimension, Figurative dimension, Leili and Majnun, Poetic imagery, Symbolic dimension, Translation of poetic imagery,

Abstract :

Poetry translation involves cognition, discourse, and action by and between human s and textual a c- tors in physical and social settings. The aim of this study was to find out to what extent the non - native translator of Nizami Ganjavi’s “Leili and Majnun” could preserve the poetic imagery in its English translation. To this end, an innovative taxonomic model, which could investigate the D e- scriptive, Figurative and Symbolic aspects of poetic imagery, was presented as a three - dime nsional theoretical framework. The information adopted from the content analysis of the source text revealed that the visual imageries occurrences in descriptive category, metaphor and then allusion in figur a- tive and love in symbolic classification were th e most applied poetic imagery in the source text. The descriptive statistics obtained from the tabulated data of this research indicated that in general James Atkinson could preserve the Persian poetic imagery as well which seems very high for a nonnative translator in introducing Persian poetry to other nations. However, the only weakness was his ignorance of the mystical thoughts of Nizami, which needed a hermeneutic understanding of Sufism and Mysticism, which have a deep root in the history and culture of Iran.

References:

Al-Omar, N. A. (2014). Changes to Poetic Images in Translation. International Journal of Linguistics, 6(3), 45.

Atkinson, J. (1834). The Loves of Leili and Majnun (A. R. J. A. Ed.). London: David Nutt.

Baker, M., & Saldanha, G. (2009). Routledge encyclopedia of translation studies: Routledge.

Bassnett, S. (2013). Translation studies: Routledge.

Britannica. (2017). Biography/Nizami. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/biography/Nezami

Catford, J. C. (1965). A linguistic theory of translation: an essay in applied linguistics. London: Oxford University Press.

Dastjerdi, H. V., Hakimshafaaii, H., & Jannesaari, Z. (2008). Translation of poetry: Towards a practical model for translation analysis and assessment of poetic discourse. Journal of Language & Translation, 9(1), 7-40.

Ferrer, J. N. (2002). Revisioning transpersonal theory: A participatory vision of human spirituality: Suny Press.

Ganjavi, N. (530-614 A.H.). Khamseh (V. Dastgerdi Ed.). Iran: Negah Pub.

Homaee, J. (1974). Rhetoric Techniques and Literary Devices. Iran: Ahoora Pub.

Iranica. (2017). Leyli o Majnun. Retrieved from http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/leyli-o-majnun-narrative-poem

Kolahi, S., & Shiraz, M. E. (2012). Application of Lefevere's Seven Strategies in English Translations of Sohrab Sepehri's Poems. International Journal of Linguistics, 4(4), 450.

Landau, J. (2011). Naṣīr al-Dīn Ṭūsī and Poetic Imagination in the Arabic and Persian Philosophical Tradition. Metaphor and Imagery in Persian Poetry, 6, 15.

Lefevere, A. (1975). Translating Poetry: Seven Strategies and a Blueprint.

Longman. (2017). Retrieved from http://www.ldoceonline.com/

Makaryk, I. R. (1993). Encyclopedia of contemporary literary theory: approaches, scholars, terms: University of Toronto Press.

Miremadi, S.-a. (1991). Theories of translation and interpretation. Mehr Press,

Netzer, D. (2008). Mystical poetry and imagination: Inspiring transpersonal awareness of spiritual freedom: Institute of Transpersonal Psychology.

Newmark, P. (2004). Non-literary in the Light of Literary Translation. The Journal of Specialized Translation, 1.

Nida, E. A., & Taber, C. R. (2003). The theory and practice of translation (Vol. 8): Brill.

Padgett, R. (1987). Handbook of Poetic Forms: ERIC.

Pedro, R. (1999). The translatability of texts. Scotland: University of Abertay.

Perrine, L. (1963). Sound and sense, poetry: the elements of poetry. USA: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc.

Perrine, L., & Arp,T. (1992).. Sound and Sense: An Introduction to Poetry. In (8th ed.). Orlando: Harcourt Brace College Publisher.

Sajadi, S. J. (1983). Encyclopedia of Mystical Terms and Idioms. Iran: Tahouri Pub.

Seyed-Ghorab, A. A. (2011). Metaphor and Imagery in Persian Poetry (Vol. 6): Brill.

Vaughan-Lee, L. p. i. S. J. o. M. P. a. P., 2014. (2011). Love Is Fire and I Am Wood: Laylâ and Majnûn as a Sufi Allegory of Mystical Love. Sufi: Journal of Mystical Philosophy and Practice.

Wilss, W. (1982). The science of translation: problems and methods (Vol. 180): John Benjamins Pub Co.

Zarinkoob, A. (1982). Literary Criticism. In (Vol. 1, pp. 6). Tehran: Amirkabir Pub.