English Translations of Hafiz

English Translations of Hafiz continued ... (page 2 of 4)

First I will give my versions of ghazals 1 & 8 (same numbering in my edition as those of Payne and Clarke, as with the numbering of all the other ghazals given as example below, I separate the first couplet of each for easier comparison). My versions of Hafiz’s poems were begun in 1972 and completed and published in 1986.

Ghazal No. 1

Hey, here Winebringer, circulate, offer the cup this way ...
for love at first seemed easy, now problems come to stay.

Finally breeze sent musk-pod’s scent from that forehead:
Its twist of musky hair makes blood clot our hearts today.

Can wayfarers stay happy and secure in Beloved’s house,
when suddenly the bell clangs to: "Lift your load! Away."

With wine dye your prayer-mat if the Master commands;
this experienced traveller has understanding of the way.

The dark night and terrifying wave and fierce whirlpool ...
do those light of burden on the shore know where we stay?

By acting upon my own desires I’ve ruined my reputation:
can the secret stay that way when crowds tell it all day?

Hafiz, if you desire the Divine Presence, do not be absent:
when you visit your Beloved ... "Farewell" to the world say.

Ghazal No. 8

If that Turkish One of Shiraz would take this heart in hand,
for that One’s Hinduish mole I’d barter Bokhara, Samarkand.

Winebringer, the special leftover wine; for in Paradise won’t be
found the bank of Ruknabad ... nor Musalla’s rose-scented land.

Ah no, these bold delectable gypsies who torment our whole city,
steal heart’s patience like Turks who take pay from the hand.

The Beloved’s beauty is not in need at all of our imperfect love;
makeup and beautyspot and eyeliner, does a lovely face demand?

I know that beauty of Joseph, which growing daily brought out
Zulaikha from her veil of modesty which she had not planned.

You called me names so I am happy; God bless, You did the best,
for a bitter answer is sweet from a ruby lip that’s sugar bland..

O youth, listen and receive this advice; for all young learners
prize advice from old Masters ... more than soul’s command.

Let’s talk of wine and minstrel, not look for Destiny’s Design;
for this is a mystery that Reason hasn’t power to understand.

You’ve rhymed a ghazal Hafiz, stringing pearls; sing it sweetly,
so that upon your song Heaven flings Pleiades clustered band.

1771. Sir William Jones. A Grammar of the Persian Language. Ghazal 8 couplet 1. Literal Translation.

If that lovely maid of Shiraz would accept
my heart, I would give for the mole on her
cheek the cities of Samarkand and Bokhara.

Poetic version:

Sweet maid if thou woulds’t charm my sight,
And bid these arms thy neck enfold;
That rosy cheek, that lily hand,
Would give thy poet more delight
Than all Bocara’s vaunted gold
Than all the gems of Samarkand.

In the literal version made by Jones, Jones assumes that the gender is female, calls the person referred to: a ‘lovely maid’ instead of a ‘Turk’ as in the original. It must be stated here that in Persian there is no word for the third person masculine or feminine, there is no ‘he,’ ‘him,’ ‘she’ or ‘her’ there is only ‘oo’ which means ‘the person or the object referred to.’

In the poetic version Jones expands the two lines of the couplet to six, changes the rhyme-structure completely and embellishes the nouns with adjectives of his own that do nothing to bring out the meaning or feeling of the poem. This translation is the most famous and infamous of all and a detailed discussion of its ‘rights’ and ‘wrongs’ can be found in ‘Aspects of Islamic Civilization’ by A.J. Arberry pages 344-358. Jones expanded the poem to such an extent that the simplicity of the original was lost in many couplets (particularly the last) and the meaning was also lost. But the power and meaning of what was left of the poem’s content was still strong enough to influence the world to such an extent that a great interest in the East and in Hafiz followed its publication. The language, thought and rhyme-structure definitely place it in the eighteenth century. In Jones’ version it is a romantic poem, romantic in the ‘gross’ sense and the spiritual meaning and poetic form have been almost completely ignored or have not been understood by Jones. He has simply used the poem as a device to make a poem inspired by Hafiz to reflect his own romantic version and poetic technique.

1774. John Richardson. A Specimen of Persian Poetry. Ghazal 1 couplet 1. Poetic translation.

Fill, fill the cup with sparkling wine,
Deep let me drink the juice divine,
To soothe my tortur’d heart;
For Love, who seeme’d at first so mild,
So gently looke’d, so gaily smil’d,
Here deep has plung’d his dart.

Richardson expands the two lines to six, makes no attempt at the rhyme- structure and embellishes the poem in a similar way to that of Jones mentioned above, but at least he keeps closer to the meaning. In the last couplet of the poem he designates the gender of the Beloved as female. The Beloved becomes ‘the blooming maid.’ Richardson was obviously influenced by the translation of ghazal no. 8 of Jones that had appeared a few years earlier and had met with such great success. As with Jones, his translation is ‘romantic’ in the ‘gross’ sense: a poem that is purely about the physical world and not appreciating the physical world as seen by Hafiz to be a symbol for the Divine.

1784. Thomas Law. Asiatick Miscellany Vol. 2. Ghazal no.34 couplet 1. Poetic Translation.

My bosom grac’d with each gay flow’r
I grasp the bowl, my nymph in glee;
The monarch of the world this hour,
Is but a slave compar’d to me.

Law, like Richardson and Jones, does not attempt the rhyme-structure of the ghazal. The ‘rose’ becomes the ‘gay flow’r,’ the Beloved again is feminine, not even a full-blooded woman but a ‘nymph’ and the ruler of the world is only a slave compared to Hafiz and does not become Hafiz’s slave as he should. Ten years after Richardson, and still under the influence of Jones and the 18th century ‘gross’ romanticism and political sensibilities divests the poem of almost all of its spiritual meaning and firmly places it in the morals and social clutches of the time, and by doing so tries to make it into an effete poem, gutless and shallow; which is exactly the reverse of what it really is.

1786. H. H. Asiatick Miscellany Vol. 2. Ghazal no. 313 couplet 1. Poetic translation.

O love, how have I felt thy pain! Ask me not how -
O absence, how I drank thy bane! Ask me not how.

The translator H.H. (initials only) keeps the correct rhyme-structure in the first couplet but in succeeding couplets continues the rhyme word in BOTH lines of the couplets before the refrain or ‘radif’ words; but at least there is some attempt to reproduce the form of the ghazal. In later couplets the Beloved is again designated as feminine and is not allowed the possibility of being Divine as well as human. But on the whole the poem has a lack of florid embellishment, a clarity, force and simplicity, that had not been seen before. Two years after Law’s version H.H. had found a way to keep some of himself or herself out of the poem and let a little more of Hafiz to shine through. It is a shame that this was probably the only poem H.H. attempted to translate.

1787. John Nott. Select Odes from the Persian Poet Hafez. Ghazal 196 couplet 1. Poetic translation.

When from the goblet’s eastern brim shall rise
The gladdd’ning sunbeams of our sparkling wine;
To grace the maid, tulip of richest dyes
Shall on her cheeks empurpled garden shine.

Sixteen years and three translators after Jones, John Nott attempted seventeen ghazals into English verse. The influence of the famous version by Jones is clearly evident, and so is the same kind of consciousness. Two lines become four, the true rhyme-structure is ignored, the couplet and whole poem is floridly embellished and the Winebringer or Beloved is again the ‘maid’ and in the last couplet the ‘nymph’, combining the terms of Jones and Richardson. The consciousness again is romantic in the gross sense without any appreciation of the spirituality of the poem. But in some ways this version by Nott sticks to the storyline more than those of Law and Richardson. Maybe a poetic ‘conscience’ is beginning to creep in somewhere for some of the couplets don’t wander too far from the descriptive aspect of the original.

1795. W. Ousley. Persian Miscellanies. Ghazal no. 8 couplet 1. Poetic version.

Fair maid of Shiraz, wouldst thou take
My heart, and love it for my sake,
For that sweet cheek of that sweet face,
I would Bokhara, as I live,
And Samarkand too, freely give.

Ouseley extends the two lines of the original to five and like previous trans-lators embellishes it to fit the rhyme-structure he has created. He changes Jones’ ‘sweet maid’ to ‘fair maid’ and like Jones leaves out ‘Turk.’ But he attempts some internal rhymes and the couplet has a ‘sweet’ feel to it.

1800. J.H. Hindley. Persian Lyrics; or Scattered Poems from the Diwan-I-Hafiz. Ghazal no. 31 couplet 1. Poetic translation.

Zephyr, shoulds’t thou chance to rove
By the mansion of my love,
From her locks ambrosial bring
Choisest odours on thy wing.

Hindley goes the way of his predecessors in changing the rhyme-structure. The Beloved becomes ‘her’ and in a later couplet a ‘nymph.’ The translation is similar in form and feeling to Nott’s translation. Again the consciousness is firmly planted in ‘gross-romanticism,’ with little spirituality shining through. Not much of a change in thirty years and six translators.

Perhaps the coming of a new century brought a shift in consciousness from gross-romanticism to spiritual-romanticism for no other English translations of Hafiz’s poems were to be attempted for quite a long time. It could be that the reading public had become tired of the florid, shallow language of the translators of the late 18th century for no further English translations were to appear until 1841 when Ralph Waldo Emerson took up his pen to write his essay on Persian Poetry and Hafiz. Meanwhile, the interest in Hafiz had moved to Germany and in 1812, Von Hammer published his literal translation of the complete Divan. Shortly after the book was published, Goethe acquired a copy, became intoxicated by Hafiz and began his ‘West-Eastern Divan,’ inspired by Hafiz, which contains many poems in praise of him. It is obvious from this and the other poems that Goethe had great insight into Hafiz whom he accepted as his Spiritual Master, and Goethe’s perception remains as relevant today as it was then. Goethe had revealed the gross-romanticism of the 18th century for what it was and with Hafiz’s help and direction has helped to spiritualize it.

Across the world in America nearly thirty years later Emerson read German translations of the Divan and most likely, Goethe’s West-Eastern Divan. Emerson saw Hafiz as both a Mystic and a libertine and made partial translations from some ghazals.

1841. R.W. Emerson. Persian Poetry (The Works of Emerson). Ghazal 371 couplets 1-4. Poetic free-form trans.

Oft I have said and I say it once more
If a wanderer, do not stray from myself
I am a kind of parrot, the mirror is hold en to me,
What the Eternal say, I stammering say again.
Give me what you will, I eat thistles as roses
And according to my food I grow and give.
Scorn me not but know I have the pearl
And am only seeking one to receive it.

Emerson doesn’t attempt the poetic structure of the ghazal but comes very close to the feeling and meaning in this beautiful version. It is a shame that he attempted so little. So it took two of the West’s literary giants to begin to understand the value of Hafiz and acquaint the West with his true worth. Many translations into German followed, mainly due to Goethe’s interest in Hafiz.

The next translation into English was not to appear until 1873. This was a literal translation by S. Robinson and was an edition of one hundred poems.

1873. S. Robinson. A Century of Ghazals (Hafiz) Ghazal 8. couplet 1. Literal translation.

If that beauty of Shiraz would take my heart in hand,
I would give for her dark mole Samarkand and Bokhara.

Robinson’s literal translations are simple and clear and again the beloved is designated as feminine.

In 1875 Hermann Bicknell’s poetic translations of 189 ghazals and most of Hafiz’s other poems was published in a beautiful edition. For the first time in English verse since Emerson’s efforts, some justice had been done to the true nature of Hafiz’s poetry.

Bicknell, a doctor, survived the Indian Mutiny, travelled widely and became deeply interested in Islamic culture and religion. In 1862 he made the pilgrimage to Mecca under the name of ‘Abdu l-Wahid and went to Shiraz ‘with the object of clearing up doubtful points (in the Divan), and of becoming personally acquainted with the localities mentioned by the Poet.’ He died in 1875 and his brother A.S. Bicknell completed and published his version in the same year.

1875. Hermann Bicknell. Hafiz of Shiraz. Ghazal no. 1 couplet 1. Poetic version.

"Ala ya ayyuha’s - Saki!" - pass round and offer thou the bowl,
For love, which seemed at first so easy, has now brought trouble to my soul.

Bicknell uses the Persian words to begin the poem and rhymes the opening couplet correctly, but then he continues in this poem and all others with different rhymes for each couplet throughout his translation. This method certainly works better and is closer to the original structure than all the English translations that came before him. Bicknell’s is the first spiritual translation into English. He clearly sees the Beloved as either the Perfect Master or as a symbol for God. When designating the Beloved he usually uses ‘thy’ and occasionally ‘he.’ Bicknell’s understanding of the spiritual nature of Hafiz’s poetry is evident throughout all his translations that are beautiful, clear, concise, musical and powerful. It is obvious that he learnt from the German translators and his knowledge of Islam and Sufi imagery and mysticism is apparent. It is a wonderful version that never pales, no matter how many times it is read. The only other criticism besides the rhyme-structure is one that Bicknell could not have forseen, or done anything about. Some of the words that he uses have become out of date but this slight ‘tarnish of time’ is a small price to pay for such a jewel. A year later E.H. Palmer translated into verse, six ghazals.

1876. E.H. Palmer. The Song of the Reed and Other Pieces. Ghazal 348 -
couplet 1. Poetic translation.

‘Twas morning, and the Lord of day
Had shed his light o’er Shiraz’ towers,
Where bulbuls trill their love-loin lay
To serenade the maiden flowers

This translation is a return to the late 18th century. It has all the worst qualities of the early translations, and like them, adds images that are not there and changes the structure and removes the spirituality if that is possible. It is as if a hundred years had not happened. The only virtue to recommend it is its simplicity that continues throughout the whole poem; being the only aspect that makes it different from those published a hundred years earlier.

In 1877 and 1878 literal translations by H. Blochman and W.H. Lowe appeared and in 1884 a translation by E.P. Evans. In 1899 the first of the translations into English by an Indian appeared. H.T. Dadachanji translated fifty poems and in the same year A. Rogers translated a selection of Hafiz’s Rubaiyat into verse. In 1891 D.F. Mulla another Indian published versions of seventy five ghazals. I cannot comment of these six translations as I haven’t been able to read copies. During the same year, the first complete translation into English of the Divan of Hafiz appeared in Calcutta.

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