The problem of conveying tropes in Nizami Ganjavi’s poem “Seven Beauties” in the translation by Vladimir Derzhavin (using the fragment “Bahram’s Stay in the Yellow Palace” as an example)

Abstract

The poem “Seven Beauties” is not only an exquisite example of classical poetics, but also a profound philosophical reflection on the human soul, wisdom and harmony of the world. The poem is based on the legend of King Bahram Gur, who goes through a journey of spiritual self-discovery, meeting seven beauties living in seven palaces, each of which symbolizes a certain planet, color, and virtue. In the Yellow Castle (Sunday), which symbolizes the Sun, truth and enlightenment, lives the Turkestan princess, who tells the story of the just shah and the beauty of truth. This fragment, like the entire poem, is rich with tropes – metaphors, comparisons, epithets, symbols, hyperboles, etc., each of which emphasizes the idea of the tale and its philosophical subtext. Each of these tropes creates vivid images in the tale and strengthens the main idea. In a philosophical context, the tropes underscore the key message of the tale: truth and sincerity (symbolized by light and yellow) are stronger than cunning tricks and passion. In aesthetic terms, they imbue the narrative with elegance, make the plot figurative, drawing attention to the inner world of the characters. An analysis of the translation of tropes allows us to trace how Nizami’s artistic imagery is transformed when transferred to a different cultural space. For our analysis we use a poetic translation made by the famous Soviet poet V. Derzhavin in 1959. V.  Derzhavin chose a strategy of artistic adaptation that strives for maximum closeness to the original, but not verbatim. Derzhavin tried to convey most of the original's tropes as closely as possible to the original. The poet makes extensive use of epithets and comparisons, often corresponding to Persian ones. Most metaphors, comparisons and epithets are found in the Russian equivalent. Derzhavin managed to convey in many ways the beauty and richness of Nizami’s poem “Seven Beauties”. His poems are also rich in metaphors and epithets. Nizami's original and Derzhavin's translation are generally very close in spirit.