The Road Not Taken

The Road Not Taken
By Robert Frost
(1875-1963)

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
Two where it bent in the undergrowth ;

Then took the other , as just as fair ,
And having perhaps the better claim ,
Because it was grassy and and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same .

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black .
Oh, I kept the first for another day !
Yet knowing how way leads on to way ,
I doubted if I should ever come back .

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence :
Two roads diverged in a wood and I –
I took the one less traveled by ,
And that has made the difference .

الطريق الذى لم أسلكه

شعر : روبرت فروست

ترجمة : حسن حجازى

فى خريف الغابة الصفراء فجأة طريقى لدربين انشطر

ولأسفى لم أستطع فيهما معاً السفر

وبمفردى وقفت ُ طويلا ً أمعن ُ فى النظر

ونظرتُ لأحدهما على قدر ما يقوى البصر

إلى حيث ما ينتهى ولكن يخفى منتهاهُ الشجر

ولأكونَ منصفا ً سلكت ُ ما اعتقدت ُ أنه ُ الدرب ،

القريبُ منى نفسى ويحققُ ما يرنو لهُ القلب ُ

لم يرتادهُ قبلى أحد ٌ تزينه ُ الخضرةُ ويكسوهُ العشب ُ

رغم أن الدرب َ الأخرَ كان يرنو على القرب

يشبه ُ دربى هذا طولا ً وفى عرض ِ ؟

كلاهما هذا الصباح مغطى بأوراق ِ الشجر

لم ترتاده ُ قدم ٌ ولم يمرُ عليهِ أحدٌُ من بشر

واحتفظت ُ لنفسى عليه ِ يوم ٌ آخرُ للسفر

إلا إنى أجهل ُ أين يذهب ُ بى وأين المستقر

وشككت ُ إنى إليه ِ سأعودُ يوما ً عندما يريد ُ القدر

سأحكى قصتى هذه ِ وفى القلبِ تنهيدة

عندما تمرُ السنوات ُ وأنا فى أرض ٍ بعيدة

أن طريقين انشطرا فى غابة ٍ فريدة

وسلكتُ الدرب َ الذى عَبَرَته ُ أقدام ٌ قليلة

وهذا ما غيَرَ حياتى لأحققَ أحلاماً جليلة .

Theories in Translation

The Problem of Non-Equivalence

We will begin to outline some of the common types of non- equivalence which often pose difficulties for the translator and some strategies for dealing with them. The choice of a suitable equivalent in a given context depends on a wide variety of factors. It is impossible to offer absolute guidelines for dealing with the various types of non- equivalence which exist among languages. The most that can be done in this and the following chapters is to suggest strategies which may be used to deal with non equivalence in some contexts.

Non-equivalence at word level means that the target language has no direct equivalent for a word which occurs in the source text. The type and level of difficulty posed can vary tremendously depending on the nature of non-equivalence. Different kinds of non-equivalence require different strategies. Since, the context and purpose of translation will often rule out some strategies and favor others.

Common problems of non-equivalence

The following are some common types of non-equivalence at word level:

1) Culture-specific concepts:The source-language word may express a concept which is totally unknown in the target culture. The concept in question may relate to a religious belief, a social custom, or even a type of food. Such concepts are often referred to as "culture-specific".For example:خير كثير Here (خير ) does not mean good.

2) Differences in form: There is often no equivalent in the target language for a particular form in the source text. Certain suffixes and prefixes which convey meaning in English often have no direct equivalents in other languages. English has many couplets such as employer/employee, trainer/trainee, and payer/payee. It also makes use of suffixes such as –ish (e.g. boyish, greenish) and –able (e.g. conceivable, drinkable). Arabic, for instance, has no ready mechanism for producing such forms and so they are often replaced by an appropriate paraphrase, depending on the meaning they convey(e.g. retrievable as 'can be retrieved' and drinkable as 'suitable for drinking')

The Diversity Of Grammatical Categories Across Languages

It is difficult to find a national category which is regularly and uniformly expressed in all languages. Even categories such as time and number, which many of us take as reflecting basic aspects of experience, are only optionally indicated in some Asian languages such as Chinese and Vietnamese. Languages therefore differ widely in the way they are equipped to handle various notions and express various aspects of experience, possibly because they differ in the degree of importance of relevance that they attach to such aspects of experience.

Differences in the grammatical structures of the source and target languages often result in some change in the information content of the message during the process of translation. This change may take the form of adding to the target text information which is not expresses in the source text. This can happen when the target language has a grammatical category which the source language lacks. Details which are ignored in the source text but which have to be specified in the target language can pose a serious dilemma for the translator if they can not be reasonably inferred from the context.

The change in the information content of the message may be in the form of omitting information specified in the source text. If the target language lacks a grammatical category which exists in the source language, the information expressed by that category may have to ignored.

A brief discussion of some major categories is intended to illustrate the kinds of difficulty that translators often encounter because of differences in grammatical structures of source and target languages.

1) Number

The idea of countability is probably universal in the sense that it is readily accessible to all human beings and is expressed in the lexical structure of all languages. However, not all languages have a grammatical category of number, and those that do not necessarily view countability in the same terms. English recognizes a distinction between one and more than one(singular and plural). This distinction has to be expressed morphologically, by adding a suffix to a noun or by changing its form in some other way to indicate whether it refers to one or more than one: student/ students, fox/foxes, man/men, child/children.

Most languages have a grammatical category of number, similar but not necessarily identical to that of English/ Arabic distinguishes between one, two, and more than two. It has a dual form in addition to singular and plural forms. In English a dual form can be indicted by the use of a numeral.

A translator working from a language whish has number distinctions into a language with no category of number has two main options: s/he can omit the relevant information on number, or encode this information lexically.

It may sometimes be necessary or desirable in certain contexts to specify plurality or duality in languages which do not normally specify such information because they do not have a category of number or a dual form. In this case, the translator may decide to encode the relevant information lexically as in the following example:

This example is from a document about arbitration procedures in Cairo. The source text is Arabic.
عندما يراد تعيين ثلاثة محكمين, يختار كل طرف محكما واحدا, ويختار المحكمان المعينان على هدا النحو المحكم الثالث وهو الدى يتولى رئاسة هيئة التحكيم.

English target text:When the appointment of three arbitrators is required, each party selects one arbitrator, and the two arbitrators thus appointed select the third arbitrator who then heads the Arbitration Committee.

Therefore, where it is felt to be important, information on number can therefore be encoded lexically.
2) Gender

Gender is a grammatical category to which a noun or pronoun is classified as either masculine or feminine in some languages. This distinction applies to nouns which refer to animate beings as well as those which refer to inanimate objects.

English does not have a grammatical category of gender as such; English nouns are not regularly inflected to distinguish between feminine and masculine. The gender distinction nevertheless exists in some areas in the person system. Different nouns are sometimes used to refer to female and male members of the same species: doe/stag. A small number of nouns which refer to professions have masculine and feminine forms, with the suffix –ess indicating feminine gender. Examples include actor/actress, manager/manageress, host/hostess, and steward/stewardess.

English also has a category of person which distinguishes in the third-person singular between masculine, feminine, and inanimate(he/she/it). This distinction does not apply to the third-person plural (they). In Arabic, gender distinctions apply to the second- as well as third- person pronouns. In addition to gender distinctions in the third-person singular and plural, Arabic has different forms of 'you', depending on whether the person or persons addressed is/are male or female.

In most languages that have a gender category, the masculine term is usually the 'dominant' or 'unmarked' term. The feminine form is used only when all the persons or things referred to are feminine but if one or more persons in a group are masculine the form used is the masculine form even if the feminine referents outnumber the masculine ones. Similarly, if the sex of a referent is not known, the masculine rather than the feminine form is used.

There is now a conscious attempt to replace the unmarked masculine form he with forms such as s/he, he or she, and him or her. This is particularly true of academic writing. But even among the general public, masculine nouns such as chairman, spokesman, and businessman are consciously being replaced by more neutral ones such as chairperson and spokesperson, or by specifically feminine nouns such as businesswoman when the referent is clearly feminine.

Gender distinctions are generally more relevant in translation when the referent of the noun or pronoun is human. Gender distinctions in inanimate objects such as car or ship and in animals such as dog and cat are sometimes manipulated in English to convey expressive meaning, particularly in literature, but they do not often cause difficulties in non-literary translation.

The following text illustrates the kind of problem that gender can pose in translation.

Source text (English: Kolestral Super)

Instructions for use:-

Shampoo the hair with a mild WELLA-SHAMPOO and lightly towel dry.
- Apply KOLESRTRAL-SUPER directly onto the hair and massage gently.
- For maximum effect, cover the hair with a plastic cap or towel.
- KOLESTRAL-SUPER can be left on the hair for 10-20 minutes.
- After the developing time rinse off thoroughly before styling
- no shampooing required.
- Style the hair as usual.Target text (Arabic):تعليمات و إرشادات الاستعمال: - يغسل الشعر بشامبو من "ويللا" على
أن يكون من نوع الشامبو الملطف. ثم يجفف الشعر بواسطة المنشفة ودلك تجفيفا بسيطا ليترك الشعر رطبا. - يوضع كولسترول ال-سوبر مباشرة على الشعر ويدلك بنعومة وبرقة. - للحصول على فعالية مطلقة, يغطى الشعر بواسطة "كاب" اى قبعة بلاستيكية تغطى الشعر, أو بواسطة منشفة. - يترك كولسترول ال-سوبر مدة 10 إلى 20 دقيقة .- بعد انتهاء مدة التفاعل, يجب أن يشطف الشعر جيدا وبعمق قبل البدء بالتسريحة المرغوبة.لا حاجة للشامبو في هدة المرحلة النهائية.- يسرح الشعر ويمشط كالعادة وبالأسلوب المرغوب وتكون النتيجة مثالية ورائعة.
-
I mentioned earlier that the gender distinction in Arabic applies to the second as well as third person. An Arabic speaker or writer has to select between ' you, masculine' (anta) and "you, feminine" (anti) in case of the second-person singular. Moreover, this type of information must be signaled in the form of the verb itself: an Arabic verb has different forms depending on whether its subject is, for instance, second-person singular feminine or third-person plural masculine.

In translating the imperative verbs in the above text into Arabic, the translator would normally have to choose, as far as gender is concerned, between a masculine and a feminine form for each verb. As is the case in most languages which have a gender category, the masculine form is the unmarked form in Arabic and is therefore normally selected in most advertisements, leaflets, and in general instructions. However, the Kolestral Super text is a leaflet which accompanies a hair conditioner, the sort of product which is predominantly used by women rather than men. In the Arab context, it is likely to be used exclusively by women. This situation would make the use of the masculine form in this instance highly marked. The translator could have used the feminine form of the verb, but s/he felt that it would have also have been marked or that it might have unnecessarily excluded potential male users. The gender distinction is avoided by using a totally different structure throughout the whole set if instructions. The use of the passive voice instead of the imperative form of the verb allows the translator to avoid specifying the subject of the verb altogether.

My own analysis for Shakespeare's Sonnet xviii

· About the poet:

William shakespeare needs no introduction: He is an English dramatist, playwright and actor, considered by many to be the greatest dramatist of all time. He is English poet since Renaissance up to the present day. He was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, England, in 1564. His father was very rich ,so Shakespeare studied at Cambridge and Oxford universities. He produced a great body of work: thirty-seven verse plays, many narrative poems and a sonnet sequence in one hundred and fifty-four sonnets. Some of Shakespeare's plays, such as Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet, are among the most famous literary works of the world. However, his early works did not match the artistic quality of Marlowe's dramas. Ben Jonson (1572-1637), another contemporary playwright, wrote that Shakespeare's "wit was in his own power; would the rule of it had been so too". Shakespeare possessed a large vocabulary for his day, having used 29,066 different words in his plays. Today the average English-speaking person uses something like 2,000 words in everyday speech. "It may be that the essential thing with Shakespeare is his ease and authority and thay you just have to accept him as he is if you are going to be able to admire him properly, in the way you accept nature, a piece of scenery for example, just as it is." (Ludwig Wittgenstein in Culture and Value, 1980)
Very little is known about Shakespeare early life, and his later works have inspired a number of interpretations. T.S. Eliot wrote that "I would suggest that none of the plays of Shakespeare has a "meaning," although it would be equally false to say that a play of Shakespeare is meaningless."

· Paraphrase:

The poem is simply a statement of praise about the beauty of the poet's beloved. The poet opens his poem with comparing his beloved to a summer's day. The summer is unpleasant and very hot, but his beloved is always temperate. He thinks that the strong winds will evoke her feeling towards him. He says that the summer is too hot. The poet tells his beloved in exalted tones that every thing loses its beauty by time, but the fate plans that she will not lose her youth, nor will her beauty fade. He tells his beloved and his eyes are sparkling in the faint light that the ghost of death will never approach her face, nor will her everlasting beauty defame. He completes his smooth tongued that if his poem lives foreever, her beauty will live too. Much to his anxcety, he tells her that as long as there is life on earth, your beauty will never vanish and this poem will give you life because her beauty is embodied in this sonnet.

· Imagery:

In shakespeare's sonnet xviii, there many figures of speech. ( compare thee to a summer's day ) is a simile where the poet assimilates his beloved to a summer's day. It is obvious that the poet hates the summer because its heat, but – in the same time – he loves his beloved very much. Therefore, he compares his beloved to a summer's day to show her beauty and youth and also to prove that she is always temperate. There another figure of speech which is ( rough wind do shake the darling buds ). It is a metaphor where the poet assimilates the strong wind to a concrete thing. He chooses a specific kind of wind which is the rough wind because it can move any thing so that it can move abstract things such as the feeling of love. But about ( the eye of heaven shines ), it is an allusion where the poet does not mean that the heaven has shinning eyes, but he means that his beloved has sparkling eyes like the brightness stars which shine in the sky. It proves that his beloved is very beautiful and he describes her in and out. ( eternal summer ) seems to be an allusion, too. The poet means her beauty which will live foreever, but he does not mean the summer itself will live foreever. It proves that her beauty can not fade by time and the ghost of death can not approach her face or her youth. Also, it indecates that his beloved is handsome and he loves her very much. Finally, there is a personification in ( death brag thou ). The poet assimilates death to a person and this indicates that death is strong and cruel so that it could destroy every thing except his beloved's beauty. This proves that his beloved love life and the poet, therefore her beauty will resist death. Then, it will live foreever.

· Diction:

Shakespeare uses informal expressions and simple statsments, but he expresses them deeply. He uses abstract elements to strike the chord. Also, he tries to make his own language soft to express his own affection towards his beloved. He uses a comparetive language to describe his beloved's beauty. On the other hand, he does not use alleteration to form his poem and distinguish his own style. Therefore, he could attract a reader's attention.

· Tone:

The tone in this poem is a cheerful and optimistical to describe his beloved's beauty. Throughout the poem, the poem's tone changes because he mentions death which will not approach her face. Of course, death has a depressed tone and when he mentions his beloved's beauty, it indicates a cheerful tone. Hence, it is obvious that the poet's feelings towards his beloved are loveness and admiration for her beauty.

· Form:

This poem is a sonnet and it consists of three quatrains and one couplet. The classical sonnet consists of fourteen or sixteen lines of iambic pentameter with some form of alternating end rhyme and a turning point that it divides the poem into two parts. The structure of the sonnet allows it to present a theme, a situation, or a problem and then it tries to solve it.
On the other hand, quatrain is defined that as a rhyme scheme of four versed lines which has a rhyme scheme of ( abab ). But, couplet is defined as two lines from the sonnet and they work as a unit which has a rhyme scheme ( aa ).


Prepared by

Eman M. Mostafa Kamal
Junior student
2008/2009

قارئة الفنجان العصريه

my dearest colleagues

this is an adaptation for the Fortune-Teller, i hope you translate it

نظرت والخوف بعينيها تتأمل ‏راتبي المحسوب

قالت لا تحزن يا ‏ولدي فالفقر عليك هو المكتوب‏

ستطير رواتبك ‏سريعاً كماء في صحن مثقوب‏

وسيقرع بابك ‏بقال يطالبك بما هو مطلوب‏

وستجلدك فواتير ‏الجوال ، مالك والموبايل يا مغضوب‏

فابحث بين جميع ‏الجزارين وستلقى الفول هو المحبوب‏

فاللحمة صارت ‏أحلاماً اسعارها لا تناسب الجيوب‏

ولو طلبها ‏العيال منك انهرهم بالصوت المقلوب‏

فأنت موظف يا ‏ولدي جمعت رواتبك العيوب‏

ما بين الفواتير ‏تذوي وباقيها بنار الغلاء يذوب‏

لا تحزن ياولدي ‏لا تحزن فدوريات التموين تجوب‏

لكن الغلاء ‏يزداد صعوداً وتشتد رياحه بالهبوب‏

فكلما قبضت ‏الراتب يا ولدي اعلم سلفاً انه مسحوب‏

فلا هو لأكل ‏الفلافل يكفي وأنت أمامه مغلوب مغلووووووب‏

Puzzels

1- The more you take, the more you leave behind. What are they?
2- What goes up, but never comes down?
3- The more you give it water, the more it decreases. What is it?
4- The more you take from it, the more it increases. What is it?

Please, who knows the answers of these puzzels, send them as comments.

Have Funny!

How can we make benefit from what we have learnt of English language?

Once, a translator went to a restaurant and ordered,
'' Please, I want

-I'm People أناناس
-Hend's husband جوز هند
-We bring جبنة


So, the boy became angry from the translator and asked him to:

-" Push the mathematics" إدفع الحساب

Analysis of the Soliloquy "To be, or not to be" in William Shakespeare's Hamlet

In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Act III, Scene I, the title character, Hamlet, performs his most famous soliloquy, started “To be, or not to be….” This speech comes in the midpoint of the main action of the play. In the conclusion of Act II, Hamlet purveyed a more rational attitude and outlook, and this soliloquy contradicts such a persona. He seems to have reverted to his dark, contemplative state. The opening, and most famous line of this soliloquy, “To be, or not to be…,” suggests death or possible suicide; however, the subsequent lines pose the two courses of action which he, or one, may take in life. He poses two ways to proceed with his life. He asks if it is a “nobler” course to follow to accept “outrageous fortune”. The second course of action requires Hamlet taking “arms against a sea of troubles, And by opposing end them.” This passage indicates Hamlet’s personal vendetta to rid the state of Denmark of what plagues it. Next Hamlet considers suicide. This notion contradicts his earlier solutions for a seemingly rational approach to his inner and external conflicts. Hamlet also expresses his fear of death in the line “But that the dread of something after death…,” but suggests that “conscience”, or introspection, leads to cowardice. This line could also suggest that Hamlet has difficulty with such an action as suicide because it goes against his moral standings. Hamlet could also refer to his incapability to take revenge on Claudius because of his morality. In the course of the play, Hamlet is faced with multiple internal and external battles. In this soliloquy all of Hamlet’s conflicts are culminated and his possible solutions and theories are exposed. This may be the central point of the play as it signifies a progression in Hamlet’s thought concerning his stance with Claudius and with Ophelia as well, as in the last line he says to her “Be all my sins remembered.” He says this as she prays and reads a book of prayers. This pivotal speech sets the tone for the rest of the play both in Hamlet’s inner feelings and externalized actions.

The purpose of a soliloquy is to outline the thoughts and feelings of a certain character at a point in the play. It reveals the innermost beliefs of the character and offers an unbiased perspective as it is merely the character talking to the audience, albeit not directly, and not to any other characters who may cause the character to withhold their true opinions. Therefore, Hamlet's first soliloquy (act 1, scene 2) is essential to the play as it highlights his inner conflict caused by the events of the play. It reveals his true feelings and as such emphasizes the difference between his public appearance, his attitude towards Claudius in the previous scene is less confrontational than here where he is directly insulted as a "satyr", and his feelings within himself.

Thanks Nehal for your good effort

Really, I like the arabic translation of Hamlet's soliloquy '' To be or not to be ". Therefore, I'll co-operate with you to complete your good work by adding the analysis and the purpose of this soliloquy.

Thanks Nehal, i am really indebted to your perseverance

Dear Nehal
I really owe you a favour for Hamlet's soliloquy, i always read it and wonder what could be the Arabic rendering of these wonderful words. Keep up the good work and be sure that something in the blog will be in our final exam.
I am waiting for more...and don't hold back even if your colleagues backlash with you.
Sincerely,
Dr. Hany Abdelfattah

Hamlet's soliloquy

The following lines are said by Hamlet in a soliloquy, (Act 3, scene 1) they are considered one of the most famous lines in English literature:

To be, or not to be? That is the question—
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And, by opposing, end them? To die, to sleep—
No more—and by a sleep to say we end
The heartache and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir to—'tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wished! To die, to sleep.
To sleep, perchance to dream—ay, there's the rub,
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,
Must give us pause. There's the respect
That makes calamity of so long life.
For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,
Th' oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely,
The pangs of despised love, the law's delay,
The insolence of office, and the spurns
That patient merit of th' unworthy takes,
When he himself might his quietus make
With a bare bodkin? Who would fardels bear,
To grunt and sweat under a weary life,
But that the dread of something after death,
The undiscovered country from whose bourn
No traveler returns, puzzles the will
And makes us rather bear those ills we have
Than fly to others that we know not of?
Thus conscience does make cowards of us all,
And thus the native hue of resolution
Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought,
And enterprises of great pith and moment
With this regard their currents turn awry,
And lose the name of action.—Soft you now,
The fair Ophelia!—Nymph, in thy orisons
Be all my sins remembered.

ترجمة خليل مطران :

أكائن أنا أم غير كائن ؟ تلك هي المسألة ، أي الحالتين أمثل بالنفس ؟ أتحمل الرجم بالمقاليع وتلقي سهامي الحظ الأنكد ؟ أم النهوض لمكافحة المصائب ولو كانت بحراً عجاجاً ، وبعد جهد الصراع إقامة حد دونها ، الموت نوم ثم لاشئ . نوم تستقر به من آلام القلب وآلاف الخطوب التي وكلتها الفطرة بالأجسام ، ونخشاه على أنه حقيقى بأن نرجوه ، الموت رقاد , رقاد وقد تكون به أحلام،آه هذه عقدة المسألة ! إنما الخوف من تلك الأحلام التي قد تتخلل رقاد الموت بعد النجاة من آفات الحياة هو الذي يقف دونه العزم ، ثم هو الذي يسومنا عذاب العيش . وما أطول مداه ، إذ لولا هذاالخوف لما صبر أحد على المذلات والمشقات الراهنة ، ولا على بغي الباغي ولا على تطاول الرجل المتكبر ولا على شقاء الحب المرذول ، ولا على إبطاءات العدل ولا على سلاطة السلطة وقحة القدرة ،ولا على الكوارث التي يبتلى بها الحسب الصحيح والمجد الصريح بفعل الجهلة وتهجم السفلة ، وفيوسع المرء أن يترخص في الإبتعاد فيسلم من كل هذه الرزايا بطعنة واحدة من خنجر في يده .من الذي كان يرضى بالبقاء رازحاً تحت الحمل دائم الأنين مستنزفاً ماء الجبهة من الأعياء لولا أنه يتقي أمراً وراء الحياة ، البلد المجهل الذي لم يستكشفه باحث ولم تتخط تخومه قدم سائح،يحدونا أن نؤثر الصعب بين أهلنا على السهل بين قوم لانعرفهم. من ثم قوي الضمير وجعلنا كلنا جبناء ، من ثم تحول الزهو في لون العزيمة إلى شحوب بفعل التفكير ، من ثم صودم التصميم على كل أمر عظيم فانحرف عن طريقه ، ثم بطل ولم يجدر باسم العمل ، مهلاً مهلاً . الآن . هذه أوفيليا الجميلة .. يا ابنة الماء لعلك تذكريني في أدعيتك فتمحى خطاياي

Freshmen/ Aristotle Vs Plato

Aristotle VS Plato
Biography of Aristotle
Aristotle lived in the fourth century B.C. in Macedonia, in Greece, and his popularity originated primarily due to his work as the tutor to Alexander the Great. Aristotle was the protégé of Plato; however, he differed from him in the concept of poetry (not only pleasant but useful also) and in his opinions in religion, public welfare, government, ideal man, etc.

Plato and his Utopian world
It is Plato who invents the utopian world and the platonic love; he adheres to the imaginative world and sees the world as ephemeral thing, so his point of view is that poets imitate an imitation. The main concern of Plato is to make an ideal state; hence he tends to make everything including art, poetry subservient to morality or the civic culture, truth, and philosophy. In Plato's precept, poetry tends to lower the morals and he attacks Homer and Hesiod because of showing of the deities as revengeful, and lustful. Poetry tells lies about the after death world; poets are rather pointed to as teachers of immoral things based on falsehood. In Plato's maxim, the real world is the world of ideas, thoughts, and the truth is an abstraction.

1)The Concept of Tragedy

Aristotle dedicated seventeen chapters out of twenty-six ones to tragedy, and its numerous constituents. Tragedy, according to Aristotle, is "an imitation of an action that is serious, and of certain magnitude, in language embellished with each kind of artistic ornament, each kind brought in separately in the separate parts of the work; in the form of action, and not in narrative form; with incidents arousing pity and fear, wherewith to accomplish the catharsis of such emotions".

The Formative Parts of Tragedy are: fable, character, diction, thought, spectacle, and melody. Melody and diction are parts of imitation; character and thought are natural things.

According to Aristotle, Plot (the soul of tragedy) is the combination of events; Character is what Aristotle defines as the agents of the story; Diction comes to mean the composition of verse (the metrical arrangement of verse); Thought is the reflection of truth ( ideas of the occasion); Spectacle (the least artistic of all parts) is the stage appearance of a character; Melody is the song or the rhythm.


The Greek Tragedy was different from the modern tragedy in various ways, for example, in the Greek language, the word 'tragedy' means "a goat song" and the word came to be used for plays because of the practice of awarding goats to winners in dramatic contests. On the day of the dramatic festivals, four plays were performed on each of the days, three generally serious in tone, and one satyr-play (or burlesque), so for the Greeks, Tragedy is one of the three plays performed before the satyr-play.

Tragedy differentiated from the other Poetic-Forms:
Aristotle begins by pointing out that imitation is the common basis of all the fine Arts, which, however, differ from each other in their medium of imitation. Thus, poetry differs from painting and music in its medium of imitation. Poetry itself is divisible into epic and dramatic on the basis of its manner of imitation. The epic narrates, while the dramatic represents through action. The dramatic poetry itself is distinguished as tragic or comic on the basis of its objects of imitation. Tragedy imitates men as better, and comedy as worse, than they really are.



The Quantitative parts of tragedy:
Every tragedy consists of: Prologue-Episode-Exode. The chorus consists of Parode: the first statement of he song, Stasimon is song of the chorus, and Commo(s) is a song of lamentation.

Peripety: sudden and unforeseen change, turning point, or a reversal in the action. It is a moment which occurs when the hero's fate takes an unexpected turn, when there is a change of fortune in the action of the play to the opposite of the affairs.

Discovery: a change from ignorance to knowledge, and thus to either love or hate.



1) The differences between Epic, Tragic and Comic
Aristotle's poetics
Aristotle sees that comedy, dithyrambic (lyric poetry), music are all forms of imitation, yet they differ in the manners of their imitation. Poetry has two divisions: Epic and tragic and they both share the common ground of being imitation of serious subjects in a grand kind of verse.

Comedy
Is an imitation of people worse than they appear in average, worse than we see them in life. Low and mean people just stir our laughter.

Epic poetry
Imitation of serious subjects in a grand kind of verse (narrative not dramatic, shorter than) in comparison of tragedy. (Constituents).

Action VS character
Aristotle was wrong once he diminishes the importance of the character "A Tragedy is impossible without plot, but there may be one without character". His statement raised a storm of criticism and controversy.

Character is what determines the qualities of men, according to Aristotle, but it is by the action that men are happy or unhappy. That is why Aristotle asserts that for any Tragedy it is an imitation of action not of characters. In the Greek Tragedy, it is the supernatural powers which determine the fate of the human beings.

A POEM THAT CONTAINS INTERTEXTUALITY

أقول لمقلتيه حين نام وسحر النوم في الأجفان سار
تبارك من توفاكم بليل ويعلم ماجرحتم بالنهار
I say to his eyes when he sleeps
and the magic of sleeping goes in the eyelids
It is He,Who takes your souls by night(when you are asleep),
and has knowledge of all that you have done by day.

Here we have intertextuality in the second line that prallels
with the verse of Alan3am
وهو الذي يتوفاكم باليل ويعلم ما جرحتم بالنها"ر"


i hope that my translation is good

Gratefulness & Honor for {THE GREAT}

Really, I'm very grateful for Dr/ Hany because of his nice comments on my own work & effort in the blog. Also, it gives me great pleasure that my name is named in his blog under his supervision .
So, many thanks for him.
Eman M. Mostafa Kamal

قصيدة للاخطل الصغير مترجمة الى الانجليزية
الصبا والجمال ملك يديك
اى تاج اعز من تاجيك
youth and beauty,met in one
are thy kingdom,thine alone,
and was ever crown more fair
than the crown which thou dost wear?

نصب الحسن عرشة فسالنا
من تراها له فدل عليك
loveliness upon atime
:lifted up a throne sublime
who shall sit there on?asked me
and he pointed,love,to thee

فاسكبى روحك الحنون علية
كانسكاب السماء فى عينيك
let thy gentle spirit now
over thy kingdom softly flow
as the cerulean skies
flow serenely in thine eyes

كلما نافس الصبا بجمال
عبقرى السنا نماه اليك
whensoever youth displayes
Beauty all in glory’s blaze
vaunting wondrous brilliancy
youth attributes all to thee

ما تغنى الهزار الا ليلقى
زفرات الغرام فى اذنيك
never plangent nightingale
sang sad music in the dale
but he poured his passionate sighs
in thy ear,to sympathize

سكر الروض سكره صرعتة
عند مجرى العبير من نهديك
through the fragrant afternoons
lo,the prostate garden swoons
with the frankincense expressed
from thy soft and tender breast

قتل الورد نفسة حسدا منك
والقى دماه فى وجنتيك
and the rose,that sought in vain
,thy rare beauty to attain
slays herself in jealous mood
to suffuse thy cheeks with blood

والفراشات ملت الزهر لما
حدثتها الانسام عن شفتيك
and the amorous butterflies
,now their favourite flowers despise
since the warm breeze of the south
whispered to them of thy mouth

رفعوا منك للجمال الها
وانحنوا سجدا على قدميك
men have raised thy image there
,to embody beauty fair
and in reverence complete
fall adoring at thy feet
*****************************************this is dedicated to our great professor dr hany abdelfattah ,thanking for such afabulous website, thank you soooo much.marina

A WORD OF THANKS IS DUE TO EMAN

Thanks a million Eman for doing the right thing, i will always depend on our excellent students to help me in publishing, don't relax your grip, and keep up the good work.
Dr. Hany

The first theoretical part that concerns Junior students

Problems facing translators and the diversity across language:

1) Non-equivalence:

Non-equivalence at word level means that the target language has no direct equivalence for a word which occurs in the source text.

Types of non-equivalence:

=Culture-specific concepts:
The source language word may express a concept which is totally unknown in the target culture.

=Differences in form:
There is often no equivalent word in the target language for a particular form.
EX: prefix, suffix
Arabic has no ready mechanism for producing such forms.

2) Number:

=English distinguishes a distinction between one and more than one,
( singular & plural ).
=Arabic distinguishes between one, two, and more than two. It has a dual form in addition to singular and plural. To indicate the dual form in English, we have to add a numeral.
=It is sometimes necessary to specify duality in an English text. But, if the context does not demand it, there is no need to add it in the English translation.

translation of the poem(SICK ROSE) by BLAKE,WILLIAM

O Rose, thou art sick!
The invisible worm
That flies in the night
In the howling storm

Has found out thy bed
Of crimson joy
And his dark secret love
Does thy life destroy!


عليلة ياوردتي
فالدودة الخفية التي
تحوم في الليالي حين تعوي العاصفة
قد عثرت علي فراشك الذي
تحوط أفراحه الوردية
لكن عشقها الدفين والعميق
يمتص من كيانك الرحيق
ويرشف الحياة من حبل الوريد

Freshmen/ New students are welcome to join us

Hello my endeared students, new invitations are posted now to many students from freshmen and junior class...enjoy your blog and have a nice day.
Dr. Hany Abdelfattah

Great NEWS for Alsun El Minia

Hello my dears
We have right now many members who can log on and praticipate in our blog among them are Dr Ahmed Saber and Dr. Reem Anwar.
Regards,
Dr. Hany Abdelfattah

For those who don't know Dr/ Hany Abdelfattah. Now, you can recognize him.

I know that this poem has been published in Al-Manar Magazine. But, I publish it here as esteem and regard for Dr/ Hany's efforts as the main author of this blog. Let's read

أستاذي

الكلام عنه شئ يفـوق الخيــــال ***** فهيا بنا نسمع ما ترويه الروايات
أيام مضت و سنـوات إنقضــت ***** ومعزته في قلوبنا قد ترعرعــت
الوقوف أمامه حلم من الأحــلام ***** يتحقق إذا شــاء رافع السمــوات
علمه ينير الطريق أمام الملايين ***** ذوق و أخـــلاق و قــائد فريـــق
يقف الجميــع أمــــامه منصـــت ***** حبـــا و تقديـــرا و علـــم يقيــن
أعيــــن النـــاس بنـــا محيــــطة ***** وليس لنـا إلا بالمعوذتيـــن نردد
إسمـــه فيــه من الهنـــاء ترادف ***** بل يفخر الهنــاء لترادف إسمــه
فهيا يا دكتور هــاني أقبل علينــا ***** بعلمك فكلنا وقوف والرب يشهد


إهداء إلي أستاذي
الدكتور/ هاني عبد الفتاح


Prepared by
Eman Mohammed Mostafa Kamal
Junior
English Department
2008/2009

The translation of The Hanged Poems : The Poem of Imru-Ul-Quais, The Poem of Antar ,and The Poem of Zuhair

My dear coleagues

you can get the translation of the seven odes through the following link

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/640hangedpoems.html

I'm waiting for your comments

Eman Mohammed Mostafa Kamal

Junior i

English Department i

The translation of part of Amr ibn Kulthum's Ode

ترجمة جزء من معلقة عمرو بن كلثوم

أَلاَ هُبِّي بِصَحْنِكِ فَاصْبَحِيْنَـا
وَلاَ تُبْقِي خُمُـوْرَ الأَنْدَرِيْنَـا
مُشَعْشَعَةً كَأَنَّ الحُصَّ فِيْهَـا
إِذَا مَا المَاءَ خَالَطَهَا سَخِيْنَـا
تَجُوْرُ بِذِي اللَّبَانَةِ عَنْ هَـوَاهُ
إِذَا مَا ذَاقَهَـا حَتَّـى يَلِيْنَـا
تَرَى اللَّحِزَ الشَّحِيْحَ إِذَا أُمِرَّتْ
عَلَيْـهِ لِمَـالِهِ فِيْهَـا مُهِيْنَـا
صَبَنْتِ الكَأْسَ عَنَّا أُمَّ عَمْـرٍو
وَكَانَ الكَأْسُ مَجْرَاهَا اليَمِيْنَـا
وَمَا شَـرُّ الثَّـلاَثَةِ أُمَّ عَمْـرٍو
بِصَاحِبِكِ الذِي لاَ تَصْبَحِيْنَـا
وَكَأْسٍ قَدْ شَـرِبْتُ بِبَعْلَبَـكٍّ
وَأُخْرَى فِي دِمَشْقَ وَقَاصرِيْنَـا
وَإِنَّا سَـوْفَ تُدْرِكُنَا المَنَـايَا
مُقَـــدَّرَةً لَنَا وَمُقَــدِّرِيْنَـا



Part of the Ode of Amr ibn Kulthum

Ha girl! Up with the bowl! Give us our dawn draught
And do not spare the wines of al-Andarina,

The brightly sparkling, as if by saffron were in them
Whenever the mulled water is mingled with them,

That swing the hotly desirous from his passion
When he has tasted them to gentle mellowness;

You see the skinflint miser, when the cup's passed him,
Suddenly holds his prized property in derision.

O Umm ‘Amr, you've withheld the beaker from us
From right to right it should have been running

And yet your friend, whom you deny the dawn-draught,
O Umm ‘Amr, is not the worst trio,

And a wine cup I had drank in Baalbek;
And other one (wine cup) in Damascus and Qāserīn

And of surety the fates will overtake us
Predestined for us, as we for them are predestined.

Anther Poem by Nizar Kabany

I know this is the second time for me to post Nizar Kabany's poetry, but i really like this man's poetry

This is anther translated words of his

إفْهَميني ..

أتمنَّى مُخْلصاً أن تَفْهَميني

رُبَّما ..أخطأتُ في شرح ظنُوني

رُبَّما سرتُ إلى حُبِّكِ معصوبَ العيونِ

و نَسَفْتُ الجسرَ ما بين اتِّزاني و جُنوني

أنا لا يمكنُ أن أعشقَ إلاّ بجُنوني

فاقْبَلِيني هكذا .. أو فارْفُضِيني ..

* **

إنْصتي لي ..

أتمنَّى مُخْلصاً أنْ تُنْصِتي لي ..

ما هناكَ امرأةٌ دونَ بديلِ

فاتنٌ وجهُكِ .. لكنْ في الهوى

ليس تكفي فتنةُ الوجه الجميلِ

***

إفْعَلي ما شئتِ ..

لكنْ حاذِري .. حاذِري أنْ تقتلي فيَّ فُضُولي ..

تَعِبَتْ كفَّايَ .. يا سيِّدتي

***

و أنا أطرُقُ بابَ المُسْتَحيلِ ..

فاعشقي كالناس .. أو لا تعشقي

إنَّني أرفُضُ أَنْصَافَ الحُلولِ ..

Understand me!

Wishing sincerely you could understand me.

Maybe I mistakenly gave reasons to my fears.

Maybe I headed for your love without eyes or ears.

I blown away the ridge between insanity and mind.

Yes, I cannot love passionately without being mad.

So do accept me like this or else step aside.

***

Listen to me.

Wishing earnestly you could listen to me.

There is no woman without an alternate.

Your face is charming but won't be of use at this rate.

***

Do whatever you wish..

Still look out..

Try not to kill the curiosity inside.

Stop lady .. I am torn apart.

***

I'm tired of knocking on the doors of nowhere.

So, do love like others or else quit this enterprise

For what I hate the most is to compromise.

juniors/ the Study of the Fortune-Teller by Nehal Safwat

Hi my DEAREST STUDENTS

i just read a part of the translation sent by Nehal to the most poignant song of AbdelHalim "the Fortune Teller or the "Clairvoyant" and it blew up my mind, i am gonna apply it for our study this semester. The song is plentiful of techniques and intertextual meanings we should decipher. Lat but not least, i hope you all study hard and never relax your grip, and no need to worry i am gonna publish the theoreticl material of the whole course step by step.

The more you send, the better understanding of how to translate poetry we will become.

sincerely,

Dr. Hany

For All my students A pronouncing Dictionary Online

Hello everyone, there is an interesting link where we can listen to the pronunciation onlione,
enjoy
www.merriam-webster.com

juniors/ welcome to new authors

Hello my dear students, i would like to wecome new comers to our blog they will participate and share everything, i hope they do their best in their study and future lives.
please welcome Eman Kamal and Radaw Monazee.
sincerely,
Dr. Hany Abdelfattah

Freshmen/ 12March poetry and Criticism

Well, Ghadeer and sabreen i am really impressed...that's very good and no matter how many mistakes in spelling or in grammar they are not going to affect my judgement. no need to worry, keep doing this i realy like it. Tomorrow at the lecture of poetry i will correct the answer.dr. hany

THE TRAGIC FLAW OF KING LEAR

The Tragic Flaw of King Lear

Hello my dear Freshmen

I am really impressed by King Lear's angry speech once Cordelia dares to confront him with her simple straight and abridged speech of how she loves him.

King Lear: let it be so; thy truth then be thy dower:
For, by the sacred radiance of the sun,
They mysterious of Hecate and the night,
By all the operation of the Orbs
From whom we do exist and cease to be,
Here I disclaim all my paternal care,
Propinquity and property of blood,
And as a stranger to my heart and me
Hold thee from this forever. The barbarous Scythian,
Or he that makes his generation messes
To gorge his appetite, shall to my bosom
Be as well neigbhoured, pitied, and reliev'd,
As thou my sometime daughter. (King Lear, Act I, ScI 107-119)

Be wary that King Lear loves by his ears, and this is his TRAGIC FLAW. Lear adores flattery and like many kings he cannot live without it. Cordelia pays a high price for her candid answers; Lear deprives her of everything, claiming that truthfulness will be her share. Then, Lear, driven by his rage, swears by many deities: the sun, Hecate who is a Greek Goddess of Crossroads or the Goddess of earth, sea and sky. She is so powerful by her time and respected by every other God.
Assignment:
Complete the analysis of the previous quotation.
Define:
Tragic Flaw_ Aside

Junior Students are the top-notch of Alsun

Hello my dear colleagues...you blew my minds of your comments, surely we will bring the best in each other.
i am pleased for what i had written. i did it finally we are rolling pages after pages. thank god, finally we could meet online.Now, i read comments about honest translation; but it is honest in your understanding which is completely different from the original poet's stance. in my humble opinion, translation of poetry is more than translation of texts in an honest way, it is conveying culture, historiography and ethics to other culture. Beware that those who are reading our translation are foreigners who aspire to understand everything about us, and poetry is so special in every culture.
i truly like this batch....
Dr. hany

ترجمة قارئة الفنجان

جلست والخوف بعينيها تتأمل فنجاني المقلوب

قالت يا ولدي لا تحزن فالحب عليك هو المكتوب

يا ولدي قد مات شهيداً من مات فداءاً للمحبوب

فكرت ودبرت كثيراً لكني لم أقرأ أبداً فنجاناً يشبه فنجانك

فكرت ودبرت كثيراً لكني لم أعرف أبداً أحزاناً تشبه أحزانك

مقدورك أن تبقى أبداً في بحر الحزن بغير رجوع

وتكون حياتك طول العمر طول العمر كتاب دموع

مقدورك أن تبقى مسجوناً بين الماء وبين النار

فبرغم جميع سوابقه وبرغم جميع حرائقه

الحب سيبقى يا ولدي أحلى الأفكار

بحياتك يا ولدي امرأة عيناها سبحان المعبود

فمها مرسوم كالعنقود

ضحكتها أنغام وورود

والشعر الغجري المجنون يسافر في كل الدنيا

قد تغدو امرأة يا ولدي يهواها القلب هي الدنيا

لكن سماءك ممطرة وطريقك مسدود

فحبيبة قلبك يا ولدي نائمة في قصر مرصود

من يدخل حجرتها

من يطلب يدها

من يدنو من سور حديقتها

من حاول فك ضفائرها

يا ولدي مفقود مفقود مفقود

يا ولدي سترجع يوماً مهزوماً مكسور الوجدان

وستعرف بعد رحيل العمر بأنك كنت تطارد خيط دخان

فحبيبة قلبك يا ولدي ليس لها أرض أو وطن أو عنوان

ما أصعب أن تهوى امرأة ليس لها عنوان ليس لها عنوان

The fortune-teller
Translated into English by :Sherif Okasha

With eyes fear-stricken
She sat down contemplating my cup

turned upside-down

"have no tears ,my son "said she

for sure love is your destiny "

"Death ,my son ,for the beloved's sake

is life in Martyrdom's wake "

So many a time did I divine

yet never saw a cup like thine

So many a time did I divine

yet never knew a grief like thine

It's your eternal fate to wade

in the love sea

never setting a sail

and your life shall ever be

a tearful tale

It's your eternal fate

to be caught

between the sea and the seething fire

in whose consuming gyre,

for all the wind ,the gales and the mire

love shall remain the finest attire!

************************************************

Onto thy life ,my son ,there shalt be a woman

whose eyes are a paragon

of His artistry ;

lips grapes clustered on a tapestry

whose laughs are fragrant roses

and the unruly hair

goes everywhere

a woman whereto thy heart led thee

and all the world shalt she be

*************************************************

Yet there is a cloudy sky

and a road befogged

and your love does lie

in a guarded fort

he who comes nearby

he who asks for her hand

or her plaits darest untie ,

my son ,is lost.

*************************************************

My son ,thou shalt ransack the world for her lustre

about her shall ask the sea and the bay

through seas and seas her image seek after

and your gloom will branch away

and after the prime of life is gone

thou shalt come to ken

it is a mirage you were after

for your love ,my son
does in nowhere reside

how difficult it is ,then

to love a woman

of that kind !

Two new members

Hello, today i welcome two authors in our blog: Mohammed tarraf and Nehal Safwat. They are going to contribute to our blog, so welcome them on.
Hany Abdelfattah

Freshmen/ 23Feb2009/King lear

My Dearest students
we will watch the movies "King Lear" at our class directed by Peter Brook and starring Paul Scofield.

King Lear is one of the major tragedies of Shakespeare. We all know that shakespeare wrote Tragedies, Comedies, and Histories/chronicles.

the fool and king Lear in the storm which is one of the important scenes in the play

Dramatis Personae

Lear, King of Britain
Goneril (sometimes written Gonerill), eldest daughter of Lear
Regan, second daughter of Lear
Cordelia , youngest daughter of Lear
Duke of Albany, husband to Goneril
Duke of Cornwall, husband to Regan
Earl of Gloucester
Earl of Kent
Edgar, son of Gloucester Edmund (sometimes written Edmond), bastard

Oswald , steward to Goneril
Fool
King of France, suitor and later husband to Cordelia
Duke of Burgundy, suitor to Cordelia
Curan, a courtier
Old man, tenant of Gloucester. A Doctor, an Officer employed by Edmund, a Gentleman attending on Cordelia, a Herald, Servants to Cornwall. Knights of Lear's Train, Officers, Messengers, Soldiers, and Attendants

the Assignment:

Write short notes on The timeline of literature.

Read Scene I of Act I from King Lear

I am actually disappointed at the way the students showed up today. You were late, unprepared, and even worse you look so tired and nonchalant. My dear students, what doesn't hurt you, doesn't teach you, please try to be active and prepare in advance. Dr. Hany Abdelfattah

Electives/ 22Feb2009 HOW TO INTRODUCE YOURSELF?

Hello my students
Happy New Year to you all, I just wish you've spent nice and happy holidays. Now let's get back to work. Today, we will have our first lecture in our syllabus, which is how to introduce yourself.

For example, Ahmed says about himself:
Hello, I am Ahmed, 17 year-old student at the faculty of Alsun, Minia University. I just join the faculty of Alsun, as I adore languages, English in particular. I would like to be an interpreter in the future, and I am going work hard on that.

Mona says:
Hi, I am Mona, 17 year-old, confident, resolute and know what I am going to do from day one. Language is my love, I like to speak and correspond with foreigners, and I wish to be a tourist guide in the future.

Useful notes to follow:
1- if you're introducing yourself to some people
Hello, May I introduce myself to you, my name is Ahmed.

2- if you're introducing a friend:
Hello, this is Mr. Nader…and this is Miss Noha.
The people introduced will say:
How d'you do__how d'you do
Or
Pleased to meet you__Pleased to me you (especially American).
Note that men do not call themselves Mr. they use either their Christian name and surname, whereas women normally use both Christian name and surname; they may add Mrs or Miss to avoid confusion. Ms can save the speaker in many times as it does both (married and unmarried women).

FOR ALL/ HOW TO VIEW ALL THE POSTS?

Hello my Dearest students
i will post as many topics and hand-outs as i can, you can help me, either by sending them to h.a.abdelfattah@gmail.com or simply by adding your valuable comments to my blog, i will read them all, don't worry about that. YOU CAN SEE ALL THE POSTS BY JUST CLICKING ON THE LINKS ON THE LEFT-SIDE.
i will always need your participation and suggestions,
need help just e-mail me
Dr. Hany Abdelfattah

FRESHMEN/ The Shakespearean Sonnets

Sonnet XVIII

Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer’s lease hath all too short a date:

Sometimes too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimm’d;
And every fair from fair sometimes declines,
By Chance or nature’s changing course untrimm’d;

But thy eternal summer shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest;
Nor shall death brag thou wander’st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou growest:

So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee

How can you analyze a Shakespearean poem?
q First, read the poem more than once in a loud voice and try to understand every part of it.
q Attempt to mark the speaker in the poem and to whom is he/she speaking? Determine the theme of the poem. Focus on the tone, is it happy or sad?
q Get a dictionary and look up the difficult words and write down their meanings. If you cannot understand the meaning in English refer to the Arabic.
q Read again for the last time before you begin to write down some notes.

JUNIOR STUDENTS/ Is Poetry Translatable?

Is Poetry Translatable?
A Translation Course for Junior Students
Prepared by Dr. Hany Abdelfattah

Before you lose your self in translation, you have to know that everything is translatable provided that you transmit the original content of the original text into the target text, along with keeping the "soul" of the original work. The "soul" of the original text is the bottom line here.

First of all, one of the most-celebrated Arabic literati Amr Bin El-Gahez stated that poetry is not translatable since the translation of poetry would definitely distort the rhyme, the metre and would do havoc to its eloquence. This opinion had been backed by many proponents like the notable American poet and critic Robert Frost who asserted that translation of poetry wastes the poetic talent and harms the target language. Much in the same vein, John Dryden necessitated that the translator must be a poet who is knowledgeable of the two languages.


Sir John Denham opted for the opposite, claiming that translation of poetry must be done by adaptation not by abiding to the original text. According to Denham, you have too preserve the "soul" of the text in the target language.

When you translate poetry keep in mind the following steps: Try to get medieval in your language, as medieval language grants poetry sense of sublimity and tradition. Beware that Old English is full of rare words and expressions that might do harm to the translated poem. The medieval language works properly especially with the old Arabic poems.

Pronouns are the first and foremost important thing you have to think of and, of course, their Verb Conjugations. The following is a table with all the archaic pronouns that you may need.

ü Here is an example : قصيدة للمتنبى فى سيف الدولة الحمدانى (مديح)
واحر قلباه ممن قلبه شبم و من بجسمى و حالى عنده سقم
مالى أكتم حبا قد برى جسدى و ندعى حب سيف الدولة الامم

إن كان يجمعنا حب لغرته فليت أنا بقدر الحب نقتسم
قد زرته و سيوف الهند مشهرة و قد نظرت اليه و السيوف دم
فكان أحسن خلق الله كلهم و كان أحسن مافى الاحسن الشيم
المفردات الصعبة:
شبم: بارد/ سقم: مرض/ برى: أضعف/ الغرة: الوجه أو بياض فى جبهة الحصان أو طلوع القمر/ الشيم: الاخلاق

How glows my heart from him whose heart to me is frigid
And who liketh to sick my heart and thy heart is ill not
Why should I hide thy love that hath worn thin my body?
To SaifEldoulla, all the world vows love



§ Here are some examples to practice:

لنا الدنيا و من أمسى عليها و نبطش حين نبطش قادرينا
بغاة ظالمين و ما ظلمنا و لكنا سنبدأ ظالمينا
ملانا البحر حتى ضاق عنا و ماء البحر نملوءه سفينا

***
إليكن عنى فتلك الشفاه
عذوبتها حنث باليمين
و تلك العيون ضياء مبين
و فجر يضل مسير الصباح
و لكن أعيدوا إلى القبل
أعيدوا الرواء
طوابع حب طواها الأجل
و ضاعت هباء

***
رمانى الدهر بالأرزاء حتى فؤادى فى غشاء من نبالٍ
فصرت إذا اصابتنى سهام تكسرت النصال على النصال

***
لغيرك ما ممدت يدا
و غيرك لا يفيض ندى
و ليس يضيق بابك بى
فكيف ترد من قصدا
وركنك لم يزل صمدا
فكيف تذود من وردا
و لطفك، يا خفى اللطف
إن عادى الزمان عدا

FOR ALL/ Dedicated to Alsun El-Minia

Hello
Wish you all the best, i just thought that it may be possible to connect with my students and colleagues through a blog, so why not? let's get started...
i will teach freshmen two subjects: poetry and criticism and Drama, and i expect that freshmen will follow me up here so we will be on a roll, who knows!

Junior students, oh, they are all endeared to me, this is my gang, and i am gonna help and share everything, just blog and forget facebook for a "while".

My endeared "non-major" students, what a misnomer, we are here to let the magic begin.
regards,
Dr. Hany Abdelfattah