COMPARATIVE LITERATURE AND TRANSLATION STUDIES

UNIT I

DEFINITION OF THE TERM ‘COMPARATIVE LITERATURE’

Comparative Literature is a western concept which involves the literary technique of
comparison. Comparison is human nature. It is always reflecting in the literary works.
It is an academic field which deals with the deeper study of literary works and their
cultural exposition across linguistic, national and various disciplinary boundaries. It helps one to
understand the international cultures through the literary expressions of the different languages in
translation. It also assists one to understand the different cultures of different nations having the
same language as their medium of communication such as the nations where English language is
used by the majority of the citizens. Comparative Literature is the study of literature across a
country. It is the study of the relationships between literature and other subjects like arts,
philosophy, history, social science and religion etc. In simple, comparative literature is the
comparison of literature with the other areas of human experience.
GROWTH OF COMPARATIVE LITERATURE
The foundations of the field of Comparative Literature were laid by the scholar from
Hungary Hugo Meltzl, the editor of the journal Acta Comparationis Litterarum Universarum
(1877) and by H.M. Posnett from Ireland who authored the book Comparative Literature (1886).
The ideas of Comparative Literature are found in Goethe’s vision of (Weltliteratur) “World
Literature” and in the scholarly works of Alexander Veselovsky, a Russian Formalist.
From the early sixteenth century, literature, politics and the languages of different
countries are tended to fuse together. Hence the political areas were termed in terms of the
languages of different countries. For example, we can say Italy – Italian, Spain-Spanish and
Sweden – Swedish. There are also countries with different languages like India and Ceylon. Thus
the basic factor for the growth of Comparative literature is the language spoken in different
countries and a country with different languages.
NATIONAL LITERATURE
A systematic comparison of two national literatures comes under the category National
Literature. It also constitutes a part of Comparative Literature. But its limitation is that it is a
politico-historical term. Politics and history change according to time and hence literature gets
narrowed down in its purpose to serve Comparative Literature.

GENERAL LITERATURE

General Literature is closely associated with the development of Comparative Literature.

Comparative Literature confines itself to the study of binary links between two elements. The
elements may be individual works or group of works or writers or entire literatures. Literary
phenomena concerning three or more elements are called General Literature.

WORLD LITERATURE
 World Literature is the criticism of a work of the same country but including other
countries forms the basis for World Literature. It is a primary necessity for the study of
Comparative Literature because it gives necessary materials and information.

SCHOOLS OF COMPARATIVE CRITICISM

Though Comparative Literature has links with National Literature, General Literature
and World Literature, it is divided into three segments: Comparative Literary History,
Comparative Literary Criticism and Comparative Literary Theory. Based on different literary
principles French School, German School, American School and Russian School have formed.
These schools have developed different types and principles over years.

THE FRENCH SCHOOL

In France, the practicing scholars were collectively called the school. They joined together to
combine historicism and positivism with strong national consciousness. The empiricist and
positivist approach defined the character of the French School in the early part of 20th century
before the World War II. The French Comparatists looked for concrete evidences of “origins”
and “influences” between works produced from various nations. It probed the travel of a specific
literary idea or motif between different nations over a period of time. It also studies the
influences and psychological contexts. In the French School, Comparative Literature is a
statement of the French Literary history and the comparatists trace and relate the world literary
experience to the French literary response ultimately as French Literature is the basis of the
universal literary system. Jean Marie Carre, Rene Etiemble, Paul Van Tieghem, Baldensperger
are some of the notable comparatists in the field.

THE GERMAN SCHOOL

The German School had its origin in the late 19th century. Peter Szondi, a Hungarian
Peter Szondi (1929 -1971), taught at the Free University Berlin, included in his work genres like
drama, poetry and hermeneutics. He invited many visiting scholars like Jacques Derrida, Pierre
Bourdieu and Lucien Goldmen from France and epitomized his conception of Comparative
Literature. His transnational conception of Comparative Literature impressed the East European
literary theorists. They derived many of Szondi’s concepts, concepts that continue to have
profound implications for comparative literary theory today. German universities have nowadays
widely opened new vocational programmes on Comparative Literature.

THE AMERICAN SCHOOL

America is a land of free and mixed culture. It is called a nation of immigrants. It is a

race of many races and the Americans may still feel attached to their homeland along with their
current American culture. Hence there is a cosmopolitan spirit and awareness which is treated as
a powerful tool by American comparatists. It is encouraged as an academic discipline in
universities and institutions of higher learning. This creates an awareness of the unique American
culture. This in turn creates a healthy tolerance in the field of literary appreciation.

After the Second World War, the American School of Comparative Literature supported
the Internationalist approach and vision of Goethe and Posnett. It probed the Universal human
‘truths’ founded on the literary archetypes which have been universal recurrently down the ages
across all literatures. The remarkable comparatists of the American School are H.H. Remak,
Harry Levin, Verner Fredrich, Francois Jost and Arthur Kwnst. These scholars undertook the
study of analogies or parallels in literatures across the boundaries of a particular country. They
also examined the relations between literature and other art.

THE RUSSIAN SCHOOL

The Russian comparatists follow the philosophy of communism. They believe that
literature is a social property though it is created by individuals. The writers witness the social
happenings and present them in their creative art. Comparatists probe into the realistic
considerations and access the social realism which forms the root spirit of Russian
Comparativism. They give greater concern for social problems and character analysis in the
social circumstances. They distinguish typological analogies and cultural imports when they
investigate the similarities and dissimilarities. The significant Russian Comparatists are Victor
Shlovisky, Roman Jakobson, Yury Tynynov and Zhirmunsky. They neglect the aesthetic aspect
of literature, ignore the spontaneity of human mind and refuse to give credit to the individual
artist. There are also Comparatists who adopt a cross-cultural approach which neglects a nation
bound study. The notable cross-cultural comparatists are Alangir Hashmi who wrote The
Common Wealth Comparative Literature and the World. Gayathri Chakravorthy Spivak who
authored Death of a Discipline and Davi Damrosch who penned What is World Literature?

SCOPE OF COMPARATIVE LITERATURE

The scope of Comparative Literature is fast widening. Any literary work from any language of
any country when translated into English becomes familiar with the global audience within a
short time. Once it is in English it gets translated into regional languages too across the world in
a short period. So in all the developed countries like America, Russia, France, Germany, Italy,
England and Japan including the developing countries like India, China, Pakistan, Srilanka,
Bangladesh, Malaysia, Indonesia, Africa and North Arabian Countries, the Departments of
Comparatives Literature and Translation Studies have been established in the Universities and
leading colleges. Such a positive initiative to compare and bring out the artistic, linguistic and
cultural merits of various literary works from various languages has gained a spurt of momentum
by computer based information Technology in this 21st century.

Before the advent of the American School, the scope of comparative literature in the West
was limited to the literature in English, German and French. Occasionally it forays into Italian
and Spanish literature. The field today is highly diverse. For example, comparatists routinely
study Chinese and Arabic literatures and the literatures of most other major languages. Thus re-
focusing the discipline away from the nation-based approach with which it has previously been
associated towards a cross-cultural approach that pays no heed to national borders. Gayatri
Chakravorty Spivak's Death of a Discipline remains to be seen whether this approach will prove
successful given that comparative literature had its roots in nation-based thinking and much of
the literature under study still concerns issues of the nation-state. Given developments in the
studies of globalization and interculturalism, comparative literature, already representing a wider
study than the single-language nation-state approach, may be well suited to move away from the
paradigm of the nation-state. While in the West comparative literature is experiencing
institutional constriction, in many parts of the world the discipline is thriving, especially in Asia,
Latin America, the Caribbean, and the Mediterranean.

CONCLUSION

In Indian context, Comparative Literature is a study based on comparing and

contrasting the similarities and dissimilarities of literatures of various cultures and countries in
order to contribute to the mutual appreciation of literary experiences of various peoples. It is a
collection of theories arising out of the existing literary practices and conventions from other
nations and cultures.

UNIT II

INFLUENCE

Influence is an essential concept in Comparative Literature. Influence study approach

explores the influence of a writer or emitter or a group of writers on author, writer or receiver.
The influence may be in varied areas like theme, attitude, idea and technique. The influence is
assessed by the internal impact of the work rather than on the external impact on the receiver-
writer. The important comparatists are Caludio Giollen, Baskell Block, J.T. Shaw, S.S. Prawer,
Anna Balakion and Ulrich Weisstein. There is a remarkable distinction between the concepts of
‘influence’ and ‘imitation’. According to Ulrich Weisstein, influence is an unconscious
imitation. It should be analysed qualitatively and not quantitatively. Imitation is a conscious
influence.

ANALOGY

Analogy is another important concept of comparative literature. According to A.O.

Alridge ‘Analogy study’ explores the “resemblances in style, structure, idea or mood”. It studies
the specific common conventions between two works. It also probes into the occurrence of the
same idea in the works of two writers though they are independent of each other. Thus there are
similar images in the works of two different poets who are unknown to each other. The similar
themes found prevalent in a specific literary genre are compared in analogy study. The
comparatist who has expertise in analogy study explores the theme, style, structure, mood, idea
and image. A.O. Alridge, Zhirmunsky, Etiensble and J.R. Jauss are expert analogists.

RECEPTION STUDY

Reception study is another vital concept of the field of Comparative Literature which analyses
the range and ambience of a writer’s works abroad. It involves the sales magnitude, reviews,
criticism and the translations of the writer’s works. It studies the popularity or ‘literary fortune’
of the writer’s works. The time of such a popularity indicates the popular literary taste of the
audience of the writer’s native country.

FOLK LITERATURE

Folk literature can also be called oral literature. It includes folk-songs, ballads, fairy tales,
drama, proverbs, riddles, charms and legends. The essential quality of folk literature is
traditional. Folk literature seems no meaning in originality. Folk literature constitutes folk songs,
folk tales, folk ballads, proverbs, riddles and myths. The second section is comprised of folk arts,
folk crafts, folk beliefs, folk customs and habits, folk dance, folk gods and festivals, folk games
and folk medicines etc. Folklore can be categorized into i) action type ii) science type iii)
linguistic type and iv) literature type.

i) Action type – folk dance, folk music, folk arts and folk crafts.
ii) Science type – superstitions, magic and folk philosophy
iii) Linguistic type – folk speech, proverbs and riddles and folk grammar
iv) Literature type – folk tales and myths

There are several schools of scholars who have done significant work in the field of folk
literature. They are:

1. Mythological School: Germanic folklore scholars carried out their work through
traditional methods of analyzing tribal languages and thereby gathering facts about the
tribal life of the Germanic race. This became ultimately a school to look into mythology
as such.
2. Anthropological School: Scholars of this school believed that group marriage was a mark
of savagery and barbarism and monogamy as a sign of developed culture and civilization.
They have contributed a good deal to the growth of the folkloristic discipline.
3. Psychoanalytical School: This school heavily focuses upon the assumptions on the basis
of puranas and myths. The whole of Sigmund Freudian thought was centred around
puranic stories, fairy tales and taboos for its findings on the subconscious mind.
4. Benfey’s School: This school was established by Theodor Benfey. They used the theory
of migration as their essential tool and analyzed folk literature. They have done research
on how “Panchathanthra” had migrated to the Mediterranean countries, Spain and
Europe.
 5. Finnish School: This school mainly used historical-geographical data for investigating
into the folk talks of many of the countries originally migrated from India and Western
Europe.

FOLKLORE

Folklore is a kind of verbal art. It concerns folk epic, folk legend, folk tales, folk customs,
proverbs, riddles and folk literature. The folk literatures of written and oral are relying on each
other. The written folk literature reflects on the identification of time and the oral one reflects
the nature of the society. Folklore can be divided into two large two sections: i) folk literature ii)
folk-arts, customs and superstitions. Folk lore reflects the social life and culture of the people of
the people of the ancient past and modern times and concerns itself with all walks of the human
life. Its scholars are called social scientists. It is related to other disciplines such as history,
philosophy and linguistics etc. There are ten principles followed in folklore research. They are:
i) historical-geographical ii) historical reconstruction iii) ideological iv)functional v)
psychoanalytical vi) structural v) oral formulaic vi) cross cultural vii) folk cultural viii) mass
cultural ix) hemispheric x) contextual.

Folk song is one of the genres of folk literature which is also most popular in the rustic
surroundings and has been studied from the eighteenth century. Folk song is known for its
festivity and community gathering. The subject matter of folk-song is describing the life,
culture, art-literature and the religions of the rural folks of the ancient past. It is simple, sweet,
unwritten, deep-rooted, unbound by grammar and conventions. The subject of the song covers up
all areas of folk life. It includes lullaby songs, children’s songs, love songs, vocational songs,
festivity songs, devotional songs and keening songs.

1. Lullaby song: It describes children, their toys, their social distinctions and the ways they
are brought up.
2. Love song: It depicts the feelings and emotive responses of love.
3. Vocational song: It is the song sung while engaged in different vocations.
4. Festivity song: It presents both subjective and objective aspects of human life
5. Devotional song: It is about gods and goddesses and their reverence to Nature as their
mother.
6. Keening song: It deals with the sad experience of death of their parents, brothers and
sisters and other dear relations.

Folk tale is another section of folk literature which were the tales told by the folks to one
another when they moved from one place to another or at the time when their cattle were
grazing. They are indicative of the folk intelligence and sharpness of mind. The subjects of the
tales are the ancient civilizations of gods and religion and of man’s genesis and the universe.
They are ideal works of art to preach to the society, the cardinal values of life.
 Ballad is another branch of folk literature which was originally meant to be sung and to be
danced. It has its own meaning, structure, style. It narrates a theme drawn from the rustic
culture. It clearly depicts the various aspects of folk life, customs, culture and traditions. It was
found after sixteenth century. Ballads in Tamil describe immense themes like historical
incidents, romantic love, war, puranic events, famine, family, God and meditations etc. Tamil
ballads can be categorized as epic, mythic, social and historical. In West, it is divided into four:
the semantic ballads, heroic ballads, romantic ballads and historical ballads.

Proverb is yet another section of folk literature. Proverbs are short and witty traditional
expressions which were in use amongst the country folks of the times immemorial. They are the
tokens of hoary wisdom and ripeness of thought of the nature of the people. They express their
creative intelligence with brevity, clarity and aptness. They go deep into the minds of the people
and prompts them to good values of life.

Riddle is another source of folk literature. Riddles invite solution. The main objective of
riddles is to inspire knowledge and loud thinking. They induce an intellectual search for
something which is likely to confuse those that do not know the answer. Sophisticated
civilization of the people, the development of involved prose style and the process of modern
industrialization are some of the distractors that become the barriers of the popularity of riddles.

Knowledge and reliable information about folk literature would constitute the essential
part of Comparative Literature.

THEMATOLOGY
Thematology is an important branch of study in Comparative Literature. ‘Thematology’
or ‘Thematics’ was coined by Harry Levin, an American Comparatist. It is yet to gain admission
in the Oxford English Dictionary. It involves the study of ‘themes’ and ‘motifs’. A motif is a
recurring element in a work of art and it may be an incident or a device or a formula. For
instance, folklores adopt a popular formula, of a despicable lady becoming a bemoaning of the
bygone past.
The theme, like motif, is also a recurring element but it is related to the subject
matter, form and meaning. Theme is suggestive in a work of art and it is indirectly expressed
through events, images or symbols. It is apprehended by the meaningful arrangement of images
within the text. So, a qualitative assessment is necessary to identify the theme in a work of art.
The subject matter is the raw material and themes must be added to make the work an art.
Theme is equated with thesis but with simple difference. Theme is a more concrete term that
effects the structure of work. It connects the unrelated features within the text whereas a thesis
can be paraphrased and is internationalist in character. A remythification process of Bharathiar’s
Panchali Sabhatham has its source in The Mahabharatha. But the poet has converted the theme
to point to patriotism. Speaking of the Marxian ideas suggested in the novels of Dickens can be
called a thesis.

LEITMOTIF
It is a motif related to a specific person, material, feeling, idea and scene. The bird
motif is a Leitmotif very related to the character Stephen in James Joyce’s “A Portrait of the
Artist as a Young Man is a classic example.

TOPOS

It is an image in form. It may be used for forewarning or for moralizing. The image
may be a fruit as an apple poisonous in nature or a weapon like a daggaer to kill. Often it is
suggestive that evil is always enticing.

SITUATION

Situation is a series of feelings or thoughts as Weisstein suggests. It culmniates into

a conflict. It involves at least two persons or more people locked in a conflict. It links ‘motif’ and
‘action’

TYPES
Types refer to characters. Characters are more related to themes. Types are much
close to motifs. A murderer is a “type” where as the enmity is the “motif”.

GENRE, MOVEMENT AND PERIOD

Genre means a literary, kind or type. It is associated with “Movement” and
“Period”. The Romantic Movement is a “movement” in which ode and lyric genres flourished.
19th century England refers to the “period”, in which the “genre” novel flourished.

ULRICH WEISSTEIN’S VIEWS OF THEMATOLOGY

Ulrich Weisstein, a critic, believed that the subject matter was only the raw material. It
acquires validity after it is treated in a particular genre. It has been recognized recently by
comparatists. As mentioned earlier, theme is related to subject matter, form and meaning.
According to Weisstein, subject matter is nothing but the content. Form implies style and
structure. Form is ‘the internal connection’ to external structure. The ‘external structure’ is the
plot which can be summarized. A summary of the work of art helps to find the themes and
motifs which lies in the centre of the action. ‘Meaning’ points to the ‘ethical’ or moral aspects of
the work. The relationship between content and meaning is explicit by means of image and
symbol, motifs and problems, themes and idea.
 Themes are related to characters. Themes have a much narrower scope than motifs.
These themes get broader basis, only when the characters acquire universal human traits.
Because of which Greek Tragedies are more popular in Western World. There are two types of
themes:
i) The ‘heroic’ theme - the study focusing on the hero’s character who strengthens the
subject matter.
ii) The ‘situational’ theme – the study centering on the action resulting from the
interplay of the figures. Examples are Ramayana and Mahabharatha.

The term ‘motif’ in painting, sculpture and decorative arts denotes either the model of
a work or the use of recurrent compositional features, the design or pattern. In literature, it
emphasizes the content on the situational themes. Weisstein clarifies the term ‘situation’ which
points to ‘divergent feelings or thoughts reflected in or giving rise to an action or conflict. The
situation creates a tension and so it needs a solution.
Weisstein also discusses about the terms ‘trait’, ‘image’ and ‘topos’. The trait is an
incidental attribute, insignificant but is equivalent to motif. The image is also insignificant one
but raises thematological curiosity. The topos yields the work of art itself ready for comparison.
There is another term called ‘leitmotif’. It is defined as a ‘repetition of the same word sequence’.

THE STUDY OF GENRE

For a comparatist, the concept of genre offers a fruitful field of investigation. The
study of genre takes one across the frontiers of National Literature. It brings together literary
history and literary theory. Genre is interlinked with the concepts of movement and period.
Plato spoke of the two divisions of poetry, the dramatic and the narrative. There started the
theory of genre also. Dramatic poetry is a direct imitation of persons whereas narrative poetry
describes human actions. Grouping of poems was carried out after Plato and Aristotle. There
are nine types of poetry. They are:
i) Tragedy
ii) Comedy
iii) Elegy
iv) Lyric
v) Epos (a group of three lyrical stanzas with varying metre)
vi) Threnos (a song of lamentation)
vii) Idyll (a poem that deals with rustic life)
viii) Pastoral
ix) Prose fiction

New genres like the novel, miscellaneous poem and lyric made their entrance in the
eighteenth century. Drama has its various species such as mystery, morality, tragedy and
comedy. Prose fiction has its two species novel and romance. These subdivisions are called as
‘genres’. The genre should be understood of as a grouping of literary works based upon the
‘outer form’ and the ‘inner form’. For example ‘Pastoral’ and ‘Satire’ are inner forms whereas
‘Pindaric’ is the outer form.

NORTHROP FRYE’S APPROACH TO GENRES

Northrop Frye, a critic, believes that a cyclical movement is basic in all literatures.
That is alternation of success and decline, effort and repose, life and death. Aristotle divides
tragedy as: i) plot ii) characters iii) thought iv) song v) diction vi) spectacle. Plot, characters and
thought are called ‘matter’. Song and diction are called ‘medium’. Spectacle is called as
‘manner’.
No poet writes with a blank mind. The factors that make a poet to write are: theme
and genre. Theme is the sense of unity of mood which produces certain images. The genre is
determined by the condition established between the writer and his audience. In Frye’s opinion,
the central ides of literature are occupied by epic and fiction, flanked by the drama on the one
side and the lyric on the other.

Epic
Drama Lyric
Fiction
There are four possible arrangements between the writer and his audience pointing the four
major genres. Epic is episodic whereas fiction is continuous. Nowadays fiction has replaced epic
as a major literary form. For example, the novels of Dickens constitute fiction. But they were
serialized in the magazines and became closer to epic. A visible link has been established
between the novelist and the readers. Dickens gave readings of his novels before large
gatherings and now the genre of fiction became like an epic. In drama, only the characters
confront the audience directly and so the author remains concealed from his audience. In fiction,
both the author and his characters remain concealed from the reader. The poet’s audience is
concealed from the poet himself/herself in the lyric.

UNIT III
THE STUDY OF INFLUENCE

The idea of influence is the key concept in comparative literature studies. It includes
two entities: the Emitter and the Receiver. The literary work from which the influence proceeds
is called the Emitter. The literary work upon which the influence is directed is called the
Receiver. Weisstein makes two notable points related to the study of influence:
1. The study of influence within a national literature or between two national literatures is a
methodological one.
 2. The function of transmitters (Translators, reviewers, books, journals etc.) is supposed to
link the ‘emitter’ and the ‘receiver’ will be partially ignored.
For example, Mikhail Lermontov, the Russian poet borrowed the works of Pushkin which are the
model of Byronic verse tale. But he followed certain characteristics of Byron’s verse which are
rejected by Pushkin. Likewise, Benjamin Franklin as a writer was influenced partially by the
works of La Rochefoucauld, the French writer. Hen Weisstein warns the comparatist not to
make a qualitative difference between the Emitter and the Receiver, because there will be only
creative transmutation but not literal imitations.

THE STUDY OF IMITATION

In imitation, the author, to some extent surrenders his creative personality to another
author. But at the same time, he need not be as sincere as a translator. Though they have been
condemned by the scholars and critics, they have merits of their own as they have been often
used as pedagogic devices in the artist’s development. The imitation may be sometimes
unconscious or sometimes conscious.

RELATION BETWEEN COMPARATIVE LITERATURE AND TRANSLATION

The relation between Comparative Literature and Translation is an inevitable aspect.

Both are the important intermediaries forming the link between two literatures in two different
languages. J. T. Shaw talks about the importance of Translation to a comparatist thus: “. . .
translations belong not only to the study of the reception of a particular literature, but to the study
of literature itself”. According to Wilhelm Von Hamboldt, translation introduces the “forms of
art and humanity”, of foreign languages unknown to many people. Thus the bondage between
Comparative Literature and Translation is firm and inseparable.

UNIT IV

TRANSLATION STUDIES

The study of translation views translation as an art of as a work depending on the

original. Opinions remain divided on this tussle. Some translations closely follow the original
without being liberal too much. There are some translations merely liberal renderings. They
appear as mere exercises without any artistic excellence. These are other translations which
become adaptations of the original works.
 Literary Translation is inevitable for all scholars and critics for the simple reason that
nobody could master all the languages and so their masterpieces. The world famous literary
masterpieces cross the boundaries of nations only by the translation process. Though a general
accusation is louder in the circles of scholars that translation is only a duplicate of the original
and so it is not on par with the original text. Even the world famous Thirukkural by the sage
Thiruvalluvar is so familiar to most of the common people and scholars in various nations only
by the famous translation of that into English by G.U. Pope. The translation of The Bible
brought all European countries and their languages in to a bondage.
It helps for example, a Tamil who knows English besides Tamil to understand the
‘literariness’ of any European masterpiece of a classic of the Greek or the Latin when reads the
literary work translated into English or in Tamil from various unknown languages to him like the
German, the Italian, the Portuguese, the Latin or the Greek. Good translations by good
translators always find global readers. The translator should negate his self and enter into the
mode and spirit of the work in the Source Language (SL) translated in to the Target Language
(TL). The translator should be loyal to the pattern, texture and coherence of the original.
Always an excellent translator does a wonderful service to the world of literature enriching one’s
mother tongue with many more glorious translated masterpieces of eternally famous writers like
Shakespere, Dante, Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, T.S. Eliot, W.B. Yeats, Bernard Shaw,Tholkappiar,
Thirumoolar, Sangam Poets, Elango Adigal, Kambar, Bharathi and Bharathidasan . The whole
body of World Literature is well knit by translations. Translation enlivens the famous dictrum
by Rene Wellek who propagated the global literary oneness “One, One Literature”

In Translation Studies the following questions are pertinent according to Dr.S. Papu
Benjmin Elango, a Comparatist They are as follows:
1. Should the translation be free from the original or faithful to the original?
2. Is translation an art, a science or a skill?
3. Should translation read like the original or like a translation?
4. Should translation be in a foreign language or in the native language?
5. Is translation a product of inspiration or will power?
6. Should the translator retain the original’s style, time, culture and other properties or
reflect the style, time, culture etc. of his own?
7. What are the types of untranslatbility, linguistic, cultural or aesthetic?
8. What are the motives of translation?
9. How can we make evaluation of translation in the absence of any model for assessing
translation quality?
10. Is there any difference between translation and transcreation?

“Primarily Translation helps the hectic exchange of cultural and social values between
the two languages, the source language and the target language. It certainly helps the foreigners
to understand profoundly a particular linguistic or cultural groups’ unique aspects and greater
values”, says Dr. S. Papu Benjamin Elango n his book, The Art and Vision of Rajaji.

The English term “translation” comes from Latin translation (transporting). It is also
derived from old French term “translation” in 1340. Roman Jakobson (1896 – 1982) in his
scholarly paper “On Linguistic aspects of Translation” enumerates the following categories of
translation.
1. Intralingual translation : A process of rewarding or an interpretation of verbal signs by
means of other signs of the same language.
2. Interlingual translation or “translation proper”- It is an interpretation of verbal signs by
means of another language.
3. Intersemiotic translation or transmutation: It is an interpretation of verbal signs by means
of signs of non-verbal sign systems (Jakobson,139)

IMPORTANCE OF TRANSLATION STUDIES

Globalisation popularized the Translation Studies. The turnover of the translation and
interpreting industry crossed 5.7 billion Euros in 2008. Translation Studies as an academic
discipline became famous after the propagation of the term “transalation studies” by the Dutch-
based Scholar from US Namely James S. Holmes (1924-1986). According to Holmes translation
studies is concerned with “the complex of problems clustered round the phenomenon of
translating and translations” (Holmes, 181). The important path breaking books on Translation
Studies as a distinct discipline are as follows:

Translation Studies by Susasn Bassnett 92002)

Contemporary Translation Theories by Gentzlern (1993)
The Routledge Encylopedia of Translation Studies by Baker and Malmkjaer (1998)
A Companion of Translation Studies by Kuhiwezaik and Liltau (2007)
The Oxford Handbook of Translation Studies by Gambier and Van Doorslaer (2011)

The International Organizations Promoted the field of Translation Studies.

The International Federation of Translators (FIT) started in 1953, the Canadian Association for
Translation Studies (CATS) founded in 1987, The European Society for Translation Studies
(EST) inaugurated in 1992, The American Translation and Interpreting Studies Association
(ATISA- 2002) and the International Association of Translation and Intercultural Studies (IATIS
Korea, 2004) are conducting International Conferences, Courses and Workshops on Translation
Studies.
TRANSLATION IN INDIA

India is a multi-lingual country. There are two distinct families of languages in India
namely the Dravidian and the Indo-Aryan. The most ancient language in the Dravidian family is
Tamil. Its sister languages are Kannada, Telugu and Malayalam. Sanskrit belongs to the Indo-
Aryan family of language. Prakrit, Pali, and Apabhramsa are belonging to this Indo-Aryan
family. In the medival period Persian became the language of court under the Mughal rulers.
The Mughal courts had translators. Humayun’s ,mentor Bairam Khan translated Baburnama into
Persian, the autobiography of Babur originally written in a language called “chagatai”. The
Mahabharata was also translated into Persian during the rule of Akbar. Akbar’s great-grandson
Dara Shukoh translated the Upanishads and the Bhagavd-Gita into Persian. People became
bilingual by translation. Urdu is the culmination of the vibrant interaction of Persian with the
local languages. New literary genres like “ghazal” were introduced by translations from Persian.
Many Indian literary works also reached the West through the translation in the Persian.
English proved to be the dominant official languagse during the colonial period of
the British rule in India. In 1789 Sir William Jones, founded the Asiatc Society. He translated
“Abhijmanasakuntalam” into English in 1789. Charles Wilkins translated the Bhagavcad-Gita
into English in 1784. In 18th and 19th centuries the famous English novels were translated into
Indian languages. The Bible was translated into most of the Indian regional languages.
Compilation of dictionaries in various Indian languages was promoted by the British.
One of the major Indian Translation theorists is Sri Aurobindo. He translated
Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita and Bankim Chandra Chatterjee’s Anandamath into English. A.K.
Ramanujan, U.R. Anantha Murthy and Rabindranath Tagore are notable Indian translators.
Between two Indian languages often English becomes the bridging language even today.

KINDS OF TRANSLATION

Theodre Savory in his pioneering book Translation Studies entitled The Art of
Translation states about four kinds of Translation.
1. The first kind is a translation in direct and plain language. The collection of pamphlets at
an airport printed in different languages is an example of such type of translation.
2. Popular translations meant for general readers form this second type of translation.
Boccaccio’s, Decameron Cervantes Don Quixote and Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina are such
translations.
3. The third type includes the scholarly translations of classics. They are presented with
commentaries too. This type focuses on the aptness and excellent merits of the various
renderings of the same classic. All the English translations of Elizabethan age onwards
belong to this type.
4. The fourth type refers to all the technical and scientific publications with profit motive.
KINDS OF READERS

Savory classifies the readers of translation into four categories.

1. The reader who does not know the original language out of one’s interest a reader reads
such a translation. Dante’s The Divine Comedy is read by scholars through Dorothy
Sayer’s translation.
2. The second type of reader is a student, who strives to learn a foreign language. He reads
the translation to enhance his grasp of that language.
3. The third type of reader is one, who learns a foreign language and now loses that
command over it.
4. The fourth type of reader is a scholar in the original language. This reader wants to see
the quality of the translation by reading it.

PROBLEMS IN TRANSLATION

A translator has to face many problems in the process of translation. Dearth of the
following skills may pose problems in translation. The translator should possess a critical
knowledge of the target language or a foreign language. He should have a practical knowledge
of his own language or the source language. He should find the apt answers for the following
questions.
1. What does the author tell?
2. What does he mean?
3. How does he say it?
4. How does he convey the essence of translation as an art and a technique?
There are problems in translating poetry into poetry. The translator should be a writer of verses.
If he is a creative poet, there is another problem of expressing his own feelings and emotions and
not those of the original writer in the source language.
Savory points out the problems in translation emerging from the tussles between the
following six contrasting pairs.
1. Whether a translator should give the words or ideas?
2. Is a translation to be studied like an original work or only as a translation?
3. Should a translation reflect the style of the original or should it have the style of the
translator?
4. Should a translation be read as a work belonging to the same age of the original or should
it be read as a contemporary as the translator?
5. Should a translation add or omit from the original or should it never add or omit from the
original?
6. Should a translation of verse be in prose or should it be in verse only?
The translation process also forces the following problems under the titles namely, form,
faithfulness, and translation of poetry, prose, pseudo-translation and style. A translation may
amount to structural distortion when a lyric is rendered in prose form. A translator should avoid
projecting himself too much. He should allow the work to speak for itself with autonomy. A
translation of poetry in prose kills the poetic splendour of the original and vice versa. When a
translation is rendered different from the original, it becomes a “pseudo-translation”. Style poses
another problem in translation. Style is much closely associated with thought and substance.
Another problem is that the style of a writer is mostly influenced not only by his personality but
also by the period to which he belongs.
So, a perfect translation becomes almost impossible. An Italian proverb, “Translation is
treason”, almost proves this. Henry Gifford states that the vital qualification of a translation is to
possess “a creative sense of language”. So a good translation should be accepted by a larger
target audience.

PROBLEMS IN TRANSLATION STUDIES

Horst Frenz presents the problems in Translation Studies in his article “The Art of
Translation”. To enjoy the World literature, translation is the only source. Through translations
the literary achievements of one nation have been “naturalized” in other countries. Wilhelm
Schlegel, Count Von Baudissin have translated Shakespeare’s plays into German language.
Schlegel’s faithfulness to the original enraptured the German mind, when the original is doctored
to suit the social thinking of the nation of the target language; such a mistake tears the two
nations apart instead of unifying them. The Russian translation of Eugene O’ Neill’s All God’s
Chillunn Got Wings and The Hairy Ape, transformed the plays to fall in line with the social
political thinking of the Soviet Union.

Frenz emphasizes the principle of faithfulness in translation. The German translator

Schlegel Tieck translated seventeen plays of Shakespeare into German language. He preserved
faithfully Shakespeare’s verse forms knowing well Shakespeare’s mixing up of verse and prose.
Thus Schlegel’s translations transformed Shakespeare into a German classic poet, who was read,
played and quoted as widely as the German masters themselves.
As the supporter of Goethe and the movement, ”Romanticism”, Schlegel’s translation of
Shakespeare became a successful act of cooperation. Frenz states: “Here was an act of
cooperation-Goethe’s extension of the German language, the romanticists’ interest in the
Englishman and Schlegel’s talent as a translator.”
Another example is Bayard Taylor who translated Goethe’s Faust into English. Frenz
records Bayard Taylor’s faithfulness to Goethe thus: “. . . Taylor, like Schlegel before him,
believed in utter fidelity to the sense of the original work of art, in reproducing the verse forms
and even, as far as possible, the rhythm and rhyme”. Thus Taylor’s translation of Faust became
an exemplary model for many later versions. Frenz also turns his focus on many translations
from England. They are as follows; the authorized version of the Bible, Chapman’s Homeric
poems, Dryden’s Virgil, Pope’s Iliad and Edward Firz Gerald’s Rubaiyyat. Fitz Gerald’s
translation brought an unknown Persian poet to the global attention of the English-speaking
world. Savory states that the Elizabethan age, ”was also the first great age of translation in
England”. In the global context, the translator enjoys vital importance by contributing largely to
a one-world concept.

THE HARMS OF BAD TRANSLATION

Frenz sums up the harmful effects of clumsy translations. The translator may choose
wrong works with the prejudices based on political, economic and racial barriers. The translator
may indulge in the distortion of the original work. For instance, Frenz indicates that the
translation of Rabelais by Sir Thomas Urguhart, who expresses his own feelings against
militarism.
The translation of poetry has the problem of having a mixture of styles, partly prose and
partly in verse. Swami Prabhavananda and Christopher Isberwood who translated The Song of
God: Bhagawad Gita admit such a problem in their translation. The metrical scheme is as
important as the style or rhythm or the phrases according to H.R. Huse, the prose translators of
The Divine Comedy.
There are also problems in the translation of prose works. The original purity of
Cellini’s language defies translation. Though translation faces all these problems, Frenz
discloses the features of a good translation as an art. The translator should have sympathy to the
work he is to translate. He should be the best reader of the original author. He should
experience the same experience of the author. The translator must express an even, a situation or
a phrase as it should be communicated in his own language. The translator should be very much
sensitive to the social, historical and mythological traditions manifested in a language. He
should use the words meticulously to bring out the gesture, melody, rhythm and expression of
the original.
Frenz comes out with a balanced definition of translation. He says, “Translating is
neither a creative art nor an imitative art, but stands somewhere between the two”. He continues,
“. . . translating is a matter of continuous subconscious association with the original, a matter of
meditation”.
Translator always acts as a bonding medium who brings closer together two languages
resulting in a new for called a new Gestalt. Though perfect fusion is not always possible, still
translation remains an art.
S. S. Prawer in his chapter on “Translation and Adaptation”, in his book Comparative
Literature Studies points out the importance of translation. He says, “. . . it provides the most
important channel through which international influences can flow. He refers to the respect
sustained by the translators while translating the word of God that is The Bible. In the translation
of the works of the ancient authors the reflection of that age should be taken with a serious
concern. Voltaire emphasizes upon the spirit rather than on the letter in a good translation. He
says ,“. . . the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life”. Prawer talks of three kinds of translation.
 1. Metaphase, or, “turning an author word by word, and line by line, from one language into
another”. Ben Jonson follows this type of translation in his translation of Horace’s Art of
Poetry.
2. Paraphase or bringing out the sense of the original author.
3. Imitation or having a freedom to vary from the words and senses.

Reuben Brower refers to the average reader’s expectation to have the same experience of the
original, in his or her own language. Prawer reiterates the role of translation in developing not
only the individual writers but also the literary movements and genres. He presents the instance
of the German Romantic movement developed by the translation theories.
Translation studies also lead to stylistics. In this way ‘a translation adds strength to the
original. Prawer also remarks that the studies of translation are very much interconnected with
the study of the theory of translation, comparative literary studies, practical criticism and the
studies of theories and history. Thus translation becomes inevitable. It allows wisdom to others.
Comparative literature helps two languages and two cultures to gain mutual illumination.
Translation helps all of us to appropriate this wisdom of “one humanity and one literature”.

UNIT V
SHAKESPEARE AND ELANGO ADIGAL AS TRAGEDIANS – A COMPARATIVE STUDY
Elango Adigal’s Silappathikaram is the story of Kannagi and Kovalan.
Kannagi, has become the symbol of Tamil Culture and chaste womanhood. Silappathikaram or
the Story of the ‘Jeweled Anklet’. It is one of the five great epics in Tamil called Aaimperum
Kappiyengal. The other four epics are Manimegalai, Sivagasinthamani, Valaiyapathy and
Kundalakesi, Silappathikaram and Manimegalai are dated 3rd to 5th century AD. Silappathikaram
is woven around the protagaonist Kannagi, the virtuous wife of Kovalan, a rich merchant of
Poompukar. Kovalan, after his pompous marriage with Kannagi, soon is enticed by the elegant
dancing courtesan Madhavi. Kovalan soon loses his wealth and comes back to Kannagi losing
his status as a rich merchant. Kannagi pardons him and offers him her only pair of anklets or
‘silambu’ to be sold to get money and start a new life. The couple leaves Poompukar to go to
Madurai, the capital of Pandiyan King. They are judiciously escorted by a Jain Nun Kaundi
Adigal. At Madurai, Kovalan unfortunately falls into the cunning trap of a villainous goldsmith,
with rubies who has stolen the queen’s gold anklet with pearls. The goldsmith calls Kovalan
with Kannagi’s anklets as a thief and hands over to the king’s soldiers. The enraged king in his
fury orders the execution of Kovalan in a hasty ruling. Kovalan is mercilessly beheaded.
Kannagai is utterly shocked and enraged over the injustice done to her innocent
husband. She rushes to Pandiyan’s court and accuses him of gross injustice. She proves her case
by breaking open the Silambu recovered from her husband. The anklet of the Pandiya Queen
was filled with pearls but Kannagi’s anklet was filled with rubies. When it is proved that the
anklet of rubies is in the hands of Kovalan, Pandiyan and his queen instantly die of the shock of
their unforgivable misjudgement. Kannagi burns the city of Madurai by her spiritual power of
being a chaste wife. At last, Kannagi becomes the Goddess of Chastity or ‘Pathinitheivam’. The
Chera King builds a temple for Kannagi. The Jain monk and Chera’s younger brother Elango
composes the epic Silappathikaram Kannagi’s story.

William Shakespeare (1564 – 1616) is a world famous pre-eminent dramatist and

poet. He is called England’s National poet and the “Bard of Avon”. His plays (36 plays, 154
sonnets) have been translated into every prominent living language in the world. The plots of the
tragedians often hinge or tragic flaws. These flaws invite the tragic ends of the heroes and
heroines. In Othello the cunning villain Iago incites the sexual jealousy of Othello which results
in the murder of the innocent wife so much loved by Othello. In King Lear the old King Lear’s
tragic flaw of misjudgement of the fidelity of his daughters especially that of Codelia leads to his
tragic flaw. In Macbeth the vaulting ambition goads Macbeth and Lady Macbeth to murder King
Duncan to usurp his throne. This leads to several murders and the death of Macbeth. In Hamlet,
the procrastination of Hamlet and his imbalanced mind steeped in despair lead to the tragic end
of Hamlet. The tragic vision of Shakespeare insists upon man’s responsibility for his own
actions as in the cases of Kovalan in Elango Adigal’s Silappathikaram. The Roman tragedies
Julius Caesar, Antony and Cleopatra and Coriolanus are woven around tragic heroes in history.
The heroes fall from their grace because of their grave errors of tragic flaws or Hamartia Romeo
and Juliet is a classic tragedy of deep love. The history plays Richard II and Richard III are also
considered to be the tragedies.
A Comparative Study of Elango Adigal’s tragic vision with that of Shakespeare
draws many similarities, the handkerchief, and the first gift of Othello to Desdemona in the play
Othello becomes the symbol of fidelity. The anklet of Kannagi becomes the symbol of fidelity
and power of chastity in Silappathikaram. If Iago draws tragedy by the misuse of the
handkerchief the goldsmith brings the tragedy by the silambu. While Othello is mentally
poisoned by Iago’s cunningness, Pandya king Neduncheliyan is misled by the villainous
Goldsmith. Both Kannagi and Desdemona remain virtuous with fidelity to their husbands.
Desdemona’s passive resistance fails but Kannagi’s aggressive resistance against injustice
burns Madurai. If Othello, is a brave moor, a warrior to the core, Kovalan is an expert in playing
‘yal’(fiddle) and controls a mad elephant by his musical power. The suffering of the innocent
Desdemona is comparable to that of Kannagi while Kovalan is living with Madhavi. Though
Othello and Kovalan are fallible, Desdemona and Kannagi hold their husbands in high esteem
with profound love.
The differences between the character of Kannagi and the character of Desdemona
are also to be studied. Desdemona remains a passive, innocent wife till the end. Kannagi though
passive at first becomes righteously aggressive to fight against the injustice done to her husband.
Desdemona could not change the mind of Othello. Kannagi could influence Kovalan by offering
her anklets to start a new life in Madurai. The violent death of Desdemona creates despair in
Venice. Kannagi’s aggressive mood destroys Pandiya king and his queen with the Madurai city.
 Three eternal truths are manifested by Elango Adigal in Silappathikaram. They are
as follows:
1. Dharma would become the God of Death to Kings who swerve from the path of righteousness.
2. Great men adore a chaste lady to great fame.
3. The destiny would manifest itself and be fulfilled according to one’s deeds in the past.
We find parallels to these three eternal truths in Shakespearean Tragedies. When
Macbeth and Lady Macbeth swerve from the Dharma of a Host to the innocent Guest Duncan it
becomes a punishing God of Death to them.
When King Lear misjudges the loyalty and true love of Cordelia his third daughter and
unduly punishes her by disowning, Dharma or Righteousness takes over and drives Lear to
untold misery, madness and death. Desdemona and Kannagi are lauded for their fidelity and
chastity by all eminent people till today. Kovalan’s misdeed in his previous birth and disloyalty
to his own wife Kannagi bring him disgraceful death, as the destiny takes the control on his fate.
‘Dharma’ or Righteousness punishes Othello for his sexual jealousy. Macbeth for his cruel
ambition; King Lear for his mad misjudgement and Hamlet for his unjustifiable procrastination
reeling under miscalculation and misjudgement devoid of clear discernment worthy of a Prince.
Dr. K. Chellappan, in his seminal essay “Comparative Literary Theory: An Indian
Perspective” says:“ Love is the only answer; only being a spiritual power, love alone can defy
cruelty, fate, nay death itself, And if it is peculiarly woman’s role to be it Cordelia or
Desdemona, Kannagi’s or Kopperundevi’s to incarnate Love, both love defiant and redeeming
and love that transcends defeat and death. But even in the multi-splendored gallery of great
heroines in Shakespeare, there is none with the sheer all sufficing femininity and and sublimity
of Kannagi. As for the filiations between the worlds of man and nature, both Shakespeare and
Elango are aware of the close nexus, but there is more harmony in Elango. Nature is more
benign and regenerative in Elango than in Shakespeare”
Comparing Elango and Shakespeare as Tragedians on the basis of the salient features
of their tragedies opens up many more insights. They are as follows:
1. As tragedy is concerned primarily with one person Silappathikaram deals with the
tragedy of kovalan as that of Macbeth, Othello, Hamlet and King Lear.
2. The tragic story is one of exceptional suffering and calamity leading to the death of the
protagonist. Kovalan is murdered so painfully as Macbeth, Othello, Hamlet and King
Lear meet their death contrastsed to their previous dignity, happiness and glory.
3. The tragedy involves a person of high status. So his death affects the entire state. In the
case of Kovalan his death infuriates his wife chaste Kannagi and brings out the series of
the deaths of Pandiyan Nedunchelian his Kopperunthevi and many more when the whole
city is burnt by the spiritual power of Kannagi. The death of Macbeth, Hamlet, King
Lear and Othello also result in deaths of other characters and the chaos in administration.
4. The hero undergoes a sudden topsy turvy in his fortune. Kovalan becomes impoverished
and cunningly murdered. Hamlet and King Lear become self pitying suffering heros.
Macbeth becomes a magalomaniac administrator of treacherous ambition toppling the
 peace and order in his state. King Lear by his insane misjudgement brings disorder and
peacelessness in his kingdom.
5. The sudden fall of the tragic hero inspires emotions of pity and fear within the audience.
Kovalan’s sudden death provokes pity for his misfortune and fear over the dire
consequence of his insincerity to his loyal wife Kannagi. In the cases of King Lear,
Hamlet, Othello and Macbeth and other heroes like Antony, Romeo, Coriolanus,
Cymbeline and Julius Caesar, their misfortunes and deaths spread fear and pity in the
hearts of the audience with a cleansing effect ‘catharsis’ or ’purification of soul’
6. The tragic flaw is the reason for the hero’s tragic fall. As such Kovalan’s infidelity,
Macbeth’s arrogant ambition, Othello’s unjustifiable jealousy, King Lear’s passionate
misjudgement and Hamlet’s self indulgence destroy them atlast.
7. The supernatural elements play a vital role in Tragedies. We find the witches in
Macbeth, as we find the goddesses in Silappathikaram.
8. Insanity, somnambulism and hallucinations pervade the tragic characters. Depression
and the guilt conscience of Kovalan render him weak. As in the cases of Lady Macbeth,
King Lear, Othello and Hamlet we find hallucinations and somnambulism lead the
characters to imbalance and insanity.
9. “chances” and “accidents” reverse the courses in tragedies. Kovalan by chance becomes
infatuated with Madhavi.. He is murdered by the accidental meeting with the cunning
goldsmith. We find the reversals in the lives of Othello, Macbeth, Hamlet and King Lear
by “chances” and “accidents” created by nature and human nature.
10. The outward conflicts between opposing individuals and groups result in the chaos inside
the tragic characters too. Kovalan loses his peace of mind and at last his life too by the
plot of the goldsmith. The conflict between Kannagi and the Pandiya King topples the
Kingdom. The conflict also torments the King and his spouse. The outer conflicts in the
tragic plays of Shakespeare result in the painful tormenting inner psychic conflicts in the
minds and hearts of Macbeth, Hamlet, King Lear and Othello.
Thus Comparative Literature opens up new vistas and plethora of the fields of Comparatives
research among World Literatures in translation.