• Roya Sadeghpour

  Author

Authentic literary language is distinguished mainly by its rich use of literary devices. Literary devices as integral parts of literary language not only convey meaning but also function as aesthetic elements. Translatability of literary devices is an issue of contention. Addressing the problem of translatability of pun words as a major literary device, the writer investigates the translatability of Hafiz’s puns in the two well-known translations of Hafiz’s poems by Wilberforce Clarke (1891) and Bicknell (1875). As far as translations of Hafiz's poems are concerned, they are not as eloquent as they should be. Avery and Heath-Stubbs (1952) maintain that the form of Hafiz’s poems and the subtleties that they enjoy in Persian have changed a lot in the translated version, to the effect that translated poems “don’t make Hafiz his own poet”. In this study, the strategies the two translators have used in translating Hafiz’s pun words into English are analyzed. Based on the findings of the study, the writer suggests the best strategy for translating pun words. The results demonstrate that to translate denotative as well as connotative meaning can serve the intended author's meaning and this is best done through translating poetry in to prose.

• pdf