An Assessment of Literal and Phonemic Translation of Rhymes in Hafiz’s Poetry Based on Lefevere’s Model

Abstract

<br /> Rhymes are beautiful instruments which play crucial aesthetic roles in Persian poetry. This study aimed to investigate the different forms of translation of rhymes in Hafiz's poetry based on Lefevere's model. As such, the 1^st, 97^th, and 149^th ghazals of Hafiz's Divan were selected to be studied. The ghazals were translated by Alexander Rogers, Gertrude Lodeinbell, Maryam Foradi, and Alexander von Humboldt-Lehrstuhl. Each translation was carefully analyzed by the researcher how the rhymes were translated into English. The data were tabulated and coded. According to the results obtained in this research, 65% of Maryam Foradi's translation was in the form of free translation, while, and all of Alexander Rogers's and Alexander von Humboldt-Lehrstuhl's translations were combinations of literal and phonemic translations. The study can be beneficial to poetry translators and translation students in giving them insights on how rhymes can be rendered into another language.