The possibilities and limitations of literary translation: A review of J. Paynes and Henri Clarkes Translations of Ghazalyat of Hafez

Literary translation has always been the matter of discussion among translation scholars. Some translation scholars state that that this special type of translation could be attempted somehow, provided that the literary translator, in addition to having linguistic knowledge of both source and target language and being familiar with the target culture, enjoys some literary creativity like that of the original author so that s/he can reproduce the flavor of the original in her/his translation. On the other hand, some scholars believe that this very particular type of translation – particularly when rhyme is involved – should not be attempted at all. According to these scholars, in order to enjoy and fully understand literary works, they should just be read in the original language. Such limitations are highlighted even more in the poem of Hafiz whose entire Divan is so replete with amphibologies, puns, word plays and other rhetorical figures which play an important role in enjoying and understanding his poems. This paper aims at analyzing one of Hafez’s poems along with its two translations in order to get to the point that despite the limitations a literary translator faces during the act of literary translation, this very particular type of translation can be done somehow. However, rarely does a translated literary work reach the level of the original in terms of conveying the original author’s intended meaning and more importantly in terms of conveying the music and flavor of the original.   Key words: Literary text, literary translation, poetry translation, literal translation, rhythm and music of the poem, Hafiz.