The Translation Of The Arabian Nights By Richard Burton - Essay Example

Translation of Arabian Nights by Richard Burton Name: Institution: Date Due: Introduction The translation of Arabian Nights by Richard Burton was driven by a number of factors such as the messages that Burton tried to put across. Burton observed that the idea of orientalism was common in the Arabian world and needed to inform the world about various ways in which it took place. On the other hand, it is found that most people in Europe and France could not understand the original language in which the stories were initially told. However, it is found that through the contribution of Burton, it was possible for them to read the translated stories and understand the nature of orientalism in Arabian world during the period between 700 AD and 900 AD. There were also various forms in which orientalism was practiced by the kings of Arabian world that were not pleasing Burton, thus his translations were aimed at criticizing these practices. This is because, it is observed that the king involved in the stories was involved in a number of mischievous activities such as executions of his people which was not pleasing to Burton and thus, the need to create awareness about these leadership characteristics. This collection of stories also provides an illustration of how the life of Shahrazard was saved after she had been withheld for a number of times but her life was saved in the end forever. This paper explains the reason for translation of the collection of stories and a number of themes that the author wanted to put across such as romance, valor and ribaldry. The theory of orientalism Through the theory of orientalism, it is possible to understand the manner in which western countries view the Arabic world in terms of how they understand the Arabic culture and their criticism of Arabic culture. In order to understand the theory of orientalism, two strategies can be used: it ensures understanding of orientalism in terms of mediated production of texts and secondly through understanding of particular dynamics within historical contexts (Johanyak, Debra and Walter 45). The aim of using orientalism is that it ensures an understanding of the relationship between occident, with the impacts on understanding human history and cultures as well as making a comparison of one culture with other cultures. The theory of orientalism results into oversimplification of large groups of people with diverse history into monolithic, subordinate and categorized in a historical context. It is also observed that these problematic constructions are currently perpetuated through visual illustrations, verbal illustrations and selecting experts within a particular context. For instance, in ‘Arabian Nights’, it is found that the translator; Richard Burton applied orientalism in a number of ways to translate the fairy tales so that a comparison could be made between the Arabian culture between 700 AD to 900 Ad with their culture in the 19th century during his exploration of the region. It is found that the Arabian society had stuck to their traditional lifestyles that involved the reliance on magicians, involvement in slavery and marginalization of less privileged people in the society through subjecting them to forced labor. These are forms of orientalism that are criticized by Christianity which was professed by Richard Burton. As a result of these activities of Arabs, it is found that Burton was unable to convert most Arabs into Christianity. Thus, he aimed to criticize the nature of orientalism that was practiced in Arabia in his translations of the sort stories. In this paper, the main focus is to illustrate various ways in which orientalism was observed in the Arabian society while Burton was involved in exploration of the Arabian region as well as during his effort to convert Arabians into Christianity Discussion The ‘Arabian Nights’ is a collection of stories that were collected by various scholars, authors and translators in various nations. The collections of tales are traced to countries such as ancient India, Arabia, Yemen, ancient Egypt, Ancient Persia, Ancient Syria, and the ancient Mesopotamian Mythology. Even though the original version has not been found, there are other versions that are dated AD 800-900. The common thing in all the editions of the book is the frame story of the ruler Shahryar as well as that of his wife Scheherazade in addition to the framing device which is incorporated in the tales. It is evident that the stories in the book proceed from the existing original tales while some are framed from other tales (Long 76). Other tales within the collection not only begin but also end within their unique accord. Some of the translated works/editions have only few hundred nights while other have 1001 nights or more. Some stories drawn from it later became common in the west particular during the 19th century. This is after it was translated into various languages. During this period, it acquired the English name and it was known as Arabian nights or the Arabian Nights Entertainment. The first printed edition of the Arabian night tales that was a Syrian version was edited by Sheikh Ahmad ibn-Mahmud who was an Arabic instructor at one of the colleges. French statesman Antoine Galland did the first European translation. The editions were in twelve small volumes between 1703 and 1713. The public responded to the works of Galland positively. This made the translations and other versions of the tales to spread faster in other parts of Europe. In 1841, Edward lane did the first English translation and in 1881, john Payne did the second one while the famous sir Richard Burton published his English version in 1885, relying on the earlier works of Payne (Marzolph, Ulrich and Richard 163). Richard Burton later added other six volumes of the supplemental material that he referred to as Supplemental nights. The authors editions sold quickly and he made big profits ever as a writer. There are a number of reasons for translation of the ‘Arabia Nights’ by Richard Burton. This is because, Burton aimed at informing the readers about the experiences he underwent while in Arabia. These include various forms of mischief in the manner in which the king of Arabia ruled and how he subjected the people to bad leadership in addition to the manner in which he mistreated his wives. It is also aimed at illustrating how the society during his time was involved in warring activities and there were few cases of peace in the Arabian society (Marzolph, Ulrich, and Richard 741). Another reason why Burton was inspired to translate the stories in the Arabian Nights is that the stories were initially told by fairy story tellers who told these stories to elderly people in a manner that only elderly people could understand them. However, they had a number of lessons that could be learned by younger people in the community and ensure they understand the Arabian history. He observed that if he translated the books from original language, it would be possible for younger readers to understand the fairy tale and get an insight into the culture of the Arabians in the period between 700 Ad and 900 AD. Another reason for translation of the stories in the ‘Arabian Nights’ has been inspired by the displeasure that Burton observed during his process of exploration of Arabia. This is because he found that leadership was seen as an opportunity for subjecting the people to harsh living environments by their kings. It is observed that execution was a common practice in Arabia among kings towards their subjects. For instance, in the story of the ‘Merchant and the Genius’ it is observed that the Arabian had the culture of subjecting the subjects to harsh living conditions despite being wealthy. They were subjected to undignified conditions such as working as cooks and also working under low pay. It also shows that there was the culture of the belief in the power of ogres and people could be destroyed if they displeased ogres. This is because, it is observed that the king in this story feared the ogre and obeyed every instruction he received from the. The purpose of Burton’s translation of this story is that he wanted to criticize the belief in ogres as was the case in Arabia. He also wanted to criticize the Arabian culture of the belief in the power of ogres. This is because kings in the period between 750 AD and 850 AD subjected people to observance of ogre worship and the idea that they could be worshipped. This is an orientalism practice that is not acceptable based on the fact that Burton was a Christian and wanted people to convert to Christianity. He tries to explain that as a result of orientalism practice of the belief in superstitious beings, he experienced a number of challenges in the effort to convert them to Christianity. There are also other ways in which Burton was not pleased with the manner in which the Arabian nights received him during his exploration of Arabia. He observed that he was not welcomed in most areas and was not able to conduct either his exploration or spread of Christianity because of the opposition he experienced. He tries to illustrate that the opposition resulted from the orientalism culture of the Arabians of the belief in magicians and the lack of the belief in the power of God which was worshipped by Christians. He draws the similarity of the behavior of the people in Arabia with those in the stories of ‘Arabian nights’ such as the story of ‘The First old man and the hind’ where the wife of the old man who went on a journey studied magic to control her adopted son and his mother. Burton tires to put more emphasis on the culture of the Arabians such as their belief in magic which prevented them to believe in Christian teaching. He compares them with the Arabians who lived in the period between 700 AD and 920 AD who experienced beliefs in magicians as the people who could control their lives. Another manner in which the Arabian society treated the society in which Richard Burton lived is that they considered polygamy to be normal among them. This was a form of orientalism that was not pleasing to Burton and thus he needed to create awareness that polygamy is a form of lifestyle that was not acceptable in Christianity. By translating the stories, he ensured people could understand his criticism of the practice by understanding the impacts that were brought by polygamy such as improper treatment of women. For instance, it is observed that King Shahryar in the stories had the liberty to marry any number of wives as he wished and also subjecting them to various forms of mistreatment. This is a practice in orientalism that was criticized by the teachings of Christianity as proclaimed by Burton during his exploration of Arabia. It is also found that a characteristic of orientalism that Burton discussed about in his translation is the role of slavery in affecting the spread of modernism and transformation of the people of Arabia. This is because during his exploration of Arabia, he observed that the rulers subjected their people to various forms of slavery that prevented them from achieving their life goals such as the ability to perform their roles such as family lives in comfortable manner. In the short stories in the translated fairy tales, it is observed that the kings subjected their people to slavery which involved working for longer durations in the fields and also executing those who went against their wills. Through the translations of the stories in the ‘Arabian Nights’ he illustrates an analogy of the experiences that the people in the ancient Arabia experienced with the current experiences in the region. He shows that despite the change in culture towards Christianity, Arabians had stuck to their orientalism culture of subjecting people to slavery. References Johanyak, Debra, and Walter S. H. Lim. The English Renaissance, Orientalism, and the Idea of Asia. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2010. Internet resource. Long, Andrew C. Reading Arabia: British Orientalism in the Age of Mass Publication, 1880- 1930. , 2014. Print. Marzolph, Ulrich, and Richard . Leeuwen. The Arabian Nights Encyclopedia. Santa Barbara (Calif.: ABC-CLIO, 2004. Print. Sabry, Somaya S. Arab-american Women's Writing and Performance: Orientalism, Race and the Idea of the Arabian Nights. London: Tauris Academic Studies, 2011. Print. Yamanaka, Yuriko. The Arabian Nights and Orientalism: Perspectives from East & West. London [u.a.: Tauris, 2006. Print. Read More

In this paper, the main focus is to illustrate various ways in which orientalism was observed in the Arabian society while Burton was involved in exploration of the Arabian region as well as during his effort to convert Arabians into Christianity Discussion The ‘Arabian Nights’ is a collection of stories that were collected by various scholars, authors and translators in various nations. The collections of tales are traced to countries such as ancient India, Arabia, Yemen, ancient Egypt, Ancient Persia, Ancient Syria, and the ancient Mesopotamian Mythology.

Even though the original version has not been found, there are other versions that are dated AD 800-900. The common thing in all the editions of the book is the frame story of the ruler Shahryar as well as that of his wife Scheherazade in addition to the framing device which is incorporated in the tales. It is evident that the stories in the book proceed from the existing original tales while some are framed from other tales (Long 76). Other tales within the collection not only begin but also end within their unique accord.

Some of the translated works/editions have only few hundred nights while other have 1001 nights or more. Some stories drawn from it later became common in the west particular during the 19th century. This is after it was translated into various languages. During this period, it acquired the English name and it was known as Arabian nights or the Arabian Nights Entertainment. The first printed edition of the Arabian night tales that was a Syrian version was edited by Sheikh Ahmad ibn-Mahmud who was an Arabic instructor at one of the colleges.

French statesman Antoine Galland did the first European translation. The editions were in twelve small volumes between 1703 and 1713. The public responded to the works of Galland positively. This made the translations and other versions of the tales to spread faster in other parts of Europe. In 1841, Edward lane did the first English translation and in 1881, john Payne did the second one while the famous sir Richard Burton published his English version in 1885, relying on the earlier works of Payne (Marzolph, Ulrich and Richard 163).

Richard Burton later added other six volumes of the supplemental material that he referred to as Supplemental nights. The authors editions sold quickly and he made big profits ever as a writer. There are a number of reasons for translation of the ‘Arabia Nights’ by Richard Burton. This is because, Burton aimed at informing the readers about the experiences he underwent while in Arabia. These include various forms of mischief in the manner in which the king of Arabia ruled and how he subjected the people to bad leadership in addition to the manner in which he mistreated his wives.

It is also aimed at illustrating how the society during his time was involved in warring activities and there were few cases of peace in the Arabian society (Marzolph, Ulrich, and Richard 741). Another reason why Burton was inspired to translate the stories in the Arabian Nights is that the stories were initially told by fairy story tellers who told these stories to elderly people in a manner that only elderly people could understand them. However, they had a number of lessons that could be learned by younger people in the community and ensure they understand the Arabian history.

He observed that if he translated the books from original language, it would be possible for younger readers to understand the fairy tale and get an insight into the culture of the Arabians in the period between 700 Ad and 900 AD. Another reason for translation of the stories in the ‘Arabian Nights’ has been inspired by the displeasure that Burton observed during his process of exploration of Arabia. This is because he found that leadership was seen as an opportunity for subjecting the people to harsh living environments by their kings.

It is observed that execution was a common practice in Arabia among kings towards their subjects.

Read More