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The Afterlife of Edward FitzGerald s Poem

The Afterlife of Edward FitzGerald s Poem. A Comparative Study of FitzGerald’s Rubáiyát and Housman s A Shropshire Lad. Mostada Hosseini
In: Contemporary Literary and Cultural Studies , (2018) 1, p. 19-34

Abstract

The present paper seeks to address and examine Edward FitzGerald’s globally-known poem afterlife, The Rubáiyát. Translation can serve as a force for literary renewal and innovation. For many years translation was regarded as a marginal area within comparative studies, now it is acknowledged that translation has played a vital role in literary history and great periods of literary innovation tend to be preceded by periods of intense translation activity. The significance of FitzGerald’s Rubáiyát lies in how the poem was read when it appeared and in the precise historical moment when it was published. The impact of FitzGerald’s Rubáiyát was such that on the one hand it served as a model for a new generation of poets struggling to make the skepticism and pessimism a proper subject for poetry, while on the other hand it established a benchmark for future translators because it set the parameters in the minds of English-language readers of what Persian poetry could do. The present chapter tries to show that FitzGerald’s Rubáiyát had a role in forming pre-modern English poetry, notably Housman’s poetry, in terms of form and content. Housman’s A Shropshire Lad and FitzGerald’s Rubáiyát have undeniable similarities.

The Spiritual States (Ahwal) in the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam

The Spiritual States (Ahwal) in the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. Sri Wulan and Devi Pratiwy.
KnE Social Sciences, 3 (2018) nr. 4,pp. 864-877.

Summary

The Rubaiyat is the exposition of Khayyam’s contemplation of life and Divinity, which is highly appreciated, and of great importance in the world of literature and a stepping progress to spirituality. Concerning the contemplation of Divine existence, the poet has experienced spiritual states. These spiritual states or experiences are called Ahwal in the concept of Sufism. The Ahwal are the main concern of this study. This concept is referred to the classification of Ahwal given by Qushayri (1966). There are six forms of Ahwal expressed by Omar Khayyam in the Rubaiyat. They are Wajd `Ecstacy’, Dzawq `Taste’, Fana `Exctincion’, Baqa `Permanency’, `Ishq `Divine Love’, and Sukr’ `Intoxication’. Then, it is found that the six spiritual states, Ahwal, are undergone by Omar Khayam and they are reflected through his Rubaiyat.

Figure 4 in Khayyam’s Rubais

Figure 4 in Khayyam’s Rubais. Rafiq Manaf Novruzov; Gulnar Fikret Novruzova
Nowa Polityka Wschodnia, 16 (2018) 1, pp. 111–124

Summary:
The article deals with the symbolic meaning of figure 4 in Khayyam’s poetry.

Intersemiotic translations of Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam by Iranian and Thai illustrators: a comparative study

Intersemiotic translations of Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam by Iranian and Thai illustrators: a comparative study. Saber Atash Nazarloo, Hossein Navidinia.
Asia Pacific Translation and Intercultural Studies, 5 (2018) 1, p.p. 72-81.

Summary

One way of transferring the culture and identity of a nation is through book illustrations as a kind of intersemiotic translation. Omar Khayyam is an Iranian poet whose fame, thanks to FitzGerald, is now worldwide. Khayyam’s works have been translated to many languages and even some illustrators have tried to transform Khayyam’s quatrains into illustrations. Transferring textual materials into signs of non-verbal system is called intesemiotic translation. The aim of this paper is to analyze and compare samples of two successful illustrators, namely Muhammad Tajvidi, an Iranian illustrator who knows Persian, the language of Khayyam’s original works and Niroot Puttapipat, a Thai illustrator who does not know Persian, and therefore, the source of his illustrations is FitzGerald’s translations. Findings indicated that Puttapipat’s illustrations conveyed more cultural elements than Tajvidi’s, since the former is translated for a foreign audience.

The silk road of poetry: Omar Khayyam and Edward FitzGerald

The silk road of poetry: Omar Khayyam and Edward FitzGerald. David Mason.
In: Voices, places : essays. David Mason. Philadelphia, Paul Dry Books, 2018. 210 pp. ISBN: 9781589881235. – p. 33-40

Summary:
Poet David Mason explores surprising connections in geography and time, considering writers who travelled, who emigrated or were exiled, and who often shaped the literature of their homelands. He writes of seasoned travellers (Patrick Leigh Fermor, Bruce Chatwin, Joseph Conrad, Herodotus himself), and writers as far flung as Omar Khayyam, Jamal al-Din al-Afghani, James Joyce, and Les Murray.

Death Deemed Undead. The Fragility of Life and the Theme of Mortality and Melancholia In Omar Khayyam’s ‘Rubaiyat’

Death Deemed Undead. The Fragility of Life and the Theme of Mortality and Melancholia In Omar Khayyam’s ‘Rubaiyat’. Abhik Maiti.
American Research Journal on English and Literature. [2018, in Press]

Summary

he term “Vairagya” refers to a deeply ruminative cynicism arising out of wisdom, knowledge and awareness about the ways of the world especially its perplexing transience and man’s search for meaning in the grand scheme of things. No other topic engenders as much vairagic thinking as does the imponderability of life’s purpose, its relevance and meaning. The manifestation of this thinking can be seen in prose tracts, poetry, schools of philosophy, expositions, sayings and aphorisms. Omar Khayyam’s Rubaiyat belongs to this manifestation. With death as the final and unyielding reality it was but natural for Omar Khayyam to bring out the perplexing nature of human existence and passions there in for questioning in his rubai.

Translation and optical media: spirit-channeling in Edward FitzGerald’s Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám

Translation and optical media: spirit-channeling in Edward FitzGerald’s Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám. Karin Littau
In: Amodern 8, 2018.

Summary

This essays gives a snapshot of the mid-Victorian period to address the ways in which Edward FitzGerald, wittingly or unwittingly, co-opted optical media into his translational practice and theory. His stance on translation – like that of his contemporary Dante Gabriel Rossetti – while imbued with older cultural beliefs and practices, such as the transmigration of spirits and souls, is also strikingly contemporary when it comes to one of the key media technologies of his age: the magic lantern. The focus on these little noticed connections between translation and optical media is intended as a step towards a more comprehensive media history of translation that pays attention to translation not only in the familiar contexts of oral and written cultures, but also in visual and screen cultures.

Inhoud …

A translation quality assessment of two English translations of Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam based on Juliane House’s Model (1997)

A translation quality assessment of two English translations of Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam based on Juliane House’s Model (1997). Sonia Ghafouripour; Razieh Eslamieh
International Journal of English language & translation studies, 6 (2018) 2, pp. 217–226

Summary

Translation Quality Assessment (TQA) is a fast-growing sub-field of Translation Studies. It focuses on the relationship between the texts translated from ST into TT. This study applied House’s (1997) TQA model to English translations of Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, in order to evaluate the quality of these translations. It was found out that both translators have successfully translated Khayyam’s poetry. However, the first translation by Saeed Saeedpour (2012) has fewer errors (68 errors) in comparison with second translation (95 errors) by Edward Fitzgerald (1859), as a conclusion, ST native speaker could master the implications better, so he could translate better than the TT native speakers.

Sufi symbolism in Tolib Shakhidi’s televised ballet The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam

Sufi symbolism in Tolib Shakhidi’s televised ballet The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. Marina N. Drozhzhina, Sitora D. Davlatova
Music Scholarship, 2018, Nr. 1, pp. 66-73

Summary

In the article devoted to one of the most well-known compositions by the Tajik composer Tolib Shakhidi the means of reflection of Sufi symbolism in the synthetic genre of the televised ballet are researched. Stemming from the essential parameters of the symbol (taking into account the formed traditions of study of this category), the authors propose their own perspective of the issue. The role of the symbol is shown in expounding by artistic means of the Sufi path of perfection (Tarikat) as a bridge between the two worlds. The orientation on the multilevel complex of sets (musical, scenographic, choreographical, scenic or poetical) and the specificity of the chief Sufi principle of zohirbotin (the inner vs. the outer) made it possible to carry out the analysis of the indicated phenomenon on the basis of a differentiated approach toward symbol.

“Bois du vin …”. English, French and German translations in Persian polyglot editions of the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám

“Bois du vin …”. English, French and German translations in Persian polyglot editions of the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám. Jos Coumans.
In: Persica, 2017-2018, Vol. 26, p. 103-163.

Summary

Many recent editions of the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám, published in Iran, have more than one translation, sometimes up to thirty or more. Usually they contain the English translation by Edward FitzGerald, accompanied by a text in Persian and translations in French, German, Spanish, Russian, Urdu and so on. However, it is seldom clear who these translators are, as their names are usually not mentioned. In this article I have tried to identify these quatrains: who was the translator and from which edition were the quatrains selected. Nineteen editions, published in Iran between 1955 and 2016 were examined. The analyses are restricted to translations in English, French and German.