The Impact of Power and Ideology on Edward FitzGerald’s Translation of the Rubáiyát

The Impact of Power and Ideology on Edward FitzGerald’s Translation of the Rubáiyát. A Postcolonial Approach. Bentolhoda Nakhaei
In: TranscUlturAl, 11 (2019) 1, p. 35-48

Abstract

This paper analyzes the issues raised by the change of ideology and the underlying meanings in five FitzGerald’s translations of Khayyám’s quatrains according to the theories of certain translation scholars such as André Lefevere and Antoine Berman. With regard to the fact that the British translator has given a harmonizing beauty and an epicurean flavor of his own to Khayyám’s Rubáiyát, could it be claimed that translator’s voice is louder than the author’s? From the transcreation point of view, one could wonder whether FitzGerald did maintain the intent, style, tone, and content of the Persian quatrains. Do FitzGerald’s translations evoke the same emotions and does it carry the same implications in English as Khayyám’s Rubáiyát does in Persian. In general, from a postcolonial perspective, FitzGerald’s five English translations could offer interesting and fertile ground for investigating the effects of power relationship between the colonizer and the colonized text during the Victorian age in England.

 

D’Omar Khayyam à Fernando Pessoa et à Pierre Seghers

D’Omar Khayyam à Fernando Pessoa et à Pierre Seghers : traduction, recréation, transfert? Ana Maria Binet
In: Synergies Portugal, (2020), 8, pp. 83-95,165-166

The constant attraction for Eastern world on the part of Western world became particularly relevant in the XIXth century, bringing about a special interest for oriental poetry, which was abundantly translated, mainly to English and French. Omar Khayyam, a great Persian medieval poet, was one of the objects of this fascination, having been translated, among others, by Edward FitzGerald, in 1859, which made him famous through English speaking world. Fernando Pessoa used this translation to adapt Khayyam’s poetry to his own inspiration. In 1982, Pierre Seghers published his French translation, which is perhaps, among those we present here, the only one we can consider as being one.

 

Edward Heron-Allen and the Quilter Rubaiyat

Edward Heron-Allen and the Quilter Rubaiyat. Bob Forrest
In: The Heron-Allen Society : newsletter, (2021), 39, pp. 5-7

A short biographical sketch of Harry Quilter, producer of one the many, rare pirate editions of the Rubaiyat, issued in 1883. With some details about Potter’s efforts to gather more information about this book.

Translation after the Persianate?

Translation after the Persianate? Omar Khayyam and Late Perso-Ottoman Poetic Connectivity. Mehtap Ozdemir
In: Philological Encounters (2023), p. 1-28

This article focuses on late Ottoman/Turkish translations of Omar Khayyam’s Rubaiyat (“quatrains”) as part of Perso-Ottoman poetic connectivity in the early twentieth century. Situating the reception of Omar Khayyam’s Rubaiyat at the nexus of world literature, literary historiography, and translatability, the article explores the methodological affordances of translation to redress the overdominance of discursive and historical points of rupture in studies of late Persianate literatures. To that end, the article offers a comparative reading of Hüseyin Daniş’s Rubaiyat-ı Ömer Hayyam (1927), Rıza Tevfik’s Ömer Hayyam ve Rubaileri (1945), both of which are based on their co-authored translation in 1922, and Mevlevi Mustafa Rüşdi b. Mehmet Tevfik’s translation of Khayyam’s quatrains (1931–32). By way of specific attention to translation as hermeneutics, this article suggests that translating after the Persianate did not involve a straight shift from regional translation practices to translation proper nor was it exclusively a modus operandi of literary and linguistic nationalism. In drawing attention to how translation can accommodate both synchronic and diachronic mobility, the article therefore calls for alternative comparative methodologies which attend to persistent textual practices as well as conjunctural discourses in literary history.

Khayyam’s Quatrains as Fitzgerald’s Rubáiyat

Khayyam’s Quatrains as Fitzgerald’s Rubáiyat. Khayyam’s Quatrains as Fitzgerald’s Rubáiyat. Ismail Alghamdi, Mohammed Albarakati.
In: Journal of Translation and Language Studies, 5 (2024) 1, pp. 65-81.

Research studies from around the globe on Omar Khayyẚm’s Persian quatrains and their translation into English by the poet, writer, and translator Edward Fitzgerald, are in abundance. Researchers are, in general, in praise of the translation and give credit to Fitzgerald for making Khayyẚm a world-renowned poet. However, the translation has rarely been approached from a socio-political perspective, or a look into Fitzgerald’s ideological manipulation of the original. The present research study investigates two issues with Fitzgerald’s translation- ideological manipulation and selective translation. The study also looks into Khayyẚm’s life and his works. It probes into the effects this translation left on the literary scene. The study involves a comparative literary translation analysis to compare and contrast the elements found in Fitzgerald’s translation and two Arabic translations. Employing Lefevere’s (1992) theory of ‘translation as rewriting,’ this paper assesses the extent to which a translator’s ideology can lead to a misrepresented product of translation (Lefevere, 1992). The study adopts textual analysis as a research method to capture the epicurean elements recurrently emphasized by Fitzgerald in his translation.

Rubaiyat EI-Khayyam zwischen den deutschen und den arabischen Übersetzungen

Rubaiyat EI-Khayyam zwischen den deutschen und den arabischen Übersetzungen. Fausia Hassan
In: Revue Traduction et Langues, 2 (2003), 1, p. 22–42

Al-Khayyam between the Arabic and German translations -This work deals with the Rubaiyat of Omar Al -Khayyam. -We will cover the life and work of Omar AlKhayyam in general, emphasizing his importance and influence on other poets. A general overview of the different translations is given. It is further examined to what extent the Arabic translations differ from the German translation and where there is a comparison. The question is also asked whether the difference involves social, political or other aspects. With 50 quatrains quoted from the translation by Mohamed Abou-Zaid.