Translations of Portfolio: A Genetic Reading of Ralph Waldo Emerson’s "Song of Seid Nimetollah of Kuhistan"

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Document Type : Research Paper

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Independent Scholar

Abstract

This article looks at Ralph Waldo Emerson’s translation of a poem by Shah Nimatullah Wali, “Song of Seid Nimetollah of Kuhistan,” and through a genetic reading of its avant-texts demonstrates firstly how despite its pretense to faithfulness, the translation is affected by Emerson’s prior knowledge of the original culture. It will also demonstrate how the translation provides Emerson with space to express his concerns in disguise of a translator. That is to say, through conscious and unconscious manipulation of the original text and introduction of the translation as an emblem of the foreign culture, Emerson affirms and naturalizes his own ideological position. This article, also attempts to demonstrate how through the translation Emerson is identifying with the speaker, “leaving” his identity, and temporarily experiencing the moment of trance a dervish describes. In order to achieve these, this article benefits from Lawrence Venuti’s “hermeneutic model of translation” and Branka Arsic’s idea of “leaving.”

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Literary Text Research

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 03 December 2024

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