Cite

Abstract

One of the many Eastern poets who became famous in the West in the 19th century is the “Sage from Ganja” Mirza Shafi Vazeh. His cheerful and song-like poems were translated into German by his student Friedrich von Bodenstedt. The songs quickly gained popularity in Germany. The co-authors of this great cultural event of the 50s of the 19th century, the poet Mirza Shafi and the translator F.Bodenstedt, managed to harmoniously complement each other. The work of F.Bodenstedt “Songs of Mirza Shafi” appeared as a unique result of the cultural unification of the East and the West. In the 70s of the 19th century, confessions written by F.Bodenstedt in the appendix to the work “From the Accounts of Mirza Shafi” led to the rupture of this poetic unity. The issue of plagiarism, which is usually emphasized in our scientific community, when it comes to the literary relationship between Mirza Shafi and F.Bodenstedt, has gained relevance after these confessions. The plagiarism committed by F.Bodenstedt in relation to Mirza Shafi has largely obscured the true essence of the cultural phenomenon that arose, as a result of the fusion of Eastern poetry and Western thinking. It should be noted that indirect acts of plagiarism by F.Bodenstedt were reflected in his memories about Mirza Shafi. He absorbs the colorful oriental features of Mirza Shafi, which could arouse the interest of a German reader tired of the revolutions of the 40s. The German translator masterfully imitates the vivid and emotional image of the poet. During conversations, he exploits the poet intellectually, involving him in “psychological games”. F.Bodenstedt tried to translate into German the impromptu poems of Mirza Shafi in the Azerbaijani and Persian languages to the extent that he understood the essence of what was said in these passages. He sought to gain popularity in the competitive German scientific community through his translations on Oriental subjects. Despite the fact that, F.Bodenstedt published the songs in his own name his confessions were not successful, because he could not separate the oriental spirit of Mirza Shafi from the songs. The confessions which were supposed to make him the sole author of the “Songs of Mirza Shafi”, caused serious doubts and sharp criticism in the German scientific community. Along with F.Bodenstedt, who gradually lost the trust he had won in the eyes of his readers, the Azerbaijani poet Mirza Shafi also began to be forgotten. As a result of the steady change of poetic tastes in German societies, the process of oblivion is further accelerated. Mirza Shafi, forgotten in the West since the beginning of the 20th century, became famous in Azerbaijan in the same century and has continued his path independently ever since.

Keywords

Mirza Shafi, East, F.Bodenstedt, West, culture, songs, poetry, psychological manipulation, imitation, plagiarism, German guise, oblivion, succession, Мирза Шафи, Восток, Ф.Боденштедт, Запад, культура, песни, поэзия, психологическая манипуляция, подражание, плагиат, немецкое обличье, забвение, преемственность, Mirzə Şəfi, Şərq, F.Bodenştedt, Qərb, mədəniyyət, nəğmələr, poeziya, psixoloji manipulyasiya, təqlid, plagiat, alman qiyafəsi, unudulma, varislik

References

1.Anushiravani, A., & Atashi, L. (2012). Cultural translation: A critical analysis of William Jones’s translation of Hafez. Persian Literary Studies Journal (PLSJ), 1(1), 41–58. (In English)
2.Arzumanli, V. (2005). A new stage in the study of Mirza Shafi. Baku: Qartal. (In Azerbaijani)
3.Bayramov, A. (1987). Mirza Shafi Vazeh: Bibliography (Compiled by H. A. Zeynalova, Edited by Q. R. Suleyman-zade). Baku: Yazichi. (In Azerbaijani)
4.Berge, von A. (1870). Mirza Schaffi. Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft, XXIV, 425–432. Leipzig: F. A. Brockhaus. (In German)
5.Bodenstedt, F. (1851). The morning-land: Or, a thousand and one days in the East (Vol. 1). Translated by R. Waddington. London: Richard Bentley. (In English)
6.Bodenstedt, F. (1987). Memories about Mirza Shafi (from "One Thousand and One Days in the East"). Translated by A. Bayramov. Baku: Yazichi. (In Azerbaijani)
7.Bodenstedt, von F. (1848). The peoples of the Caucasus and their struggles for freedom against the Russians: A contribution to the latest history of the East. Frankfurt am Main: Hermann Johann Kessler. (In German)
8.Bodenstedt, von F. (1859). A thousand and one days in the Orient. Berlin: Verlag der Königlichen Geheimen Ober-Hofbuchdruckerei (R. v. Decker). (In German)
9.Bodenstedt, von F. (1873). The Songs of Mirza-Schaffy. Berlin: Verlag der Königlichen Geheimen Ober-Hofbuchdruckerei (R. v. Decker). (In German)
10.Bodenstedt, von F. (1882). From the East and the West: New poems and sayings. Leipzig: F. A. Brockhaus. (In German)
11.Bodenstedt, von F. (1888). Memories from my life. Berlin: General Association for German Literature. (In German)
12.Bodenstedt, von F. (1890). Memories from my life. Berlin: General Association for German Literature. (In German)
13.Bodenstedt, von F. (1891). From the legacy of Mirza-Schaffy. Leipzig: F. A. Brockhaus. (In German)
14.Brugsch, H. (1862). Journey of the Royal Prussian Embassy to Persia, 1860 and 1861. Leipzig: Hinrichs’sche Buchhandlung. (In German)
15.Bürgel, J. C. (2004). Friedrich (von) Bodenstedt, a German orientalist of the 19th century, and his Songs of Mirza Schaffy. Paper presented at the International Conference on the Study of Persian Culture in the West, State Hermitage, St. Petersburg, pp. 1–13. Retrieved from http://archivindomed.altervista.org/bodenburgel.pdf (In English)
16.Gould, R. R. (2018). Memorializing Akhundzadeh: Contradictory cosmopolitanism and post-Soviet narcissism in Old Tbilisi. Interventions: International Journal of Postcolonial Studies, 20(4), 1–22. (In English)
17.Ibn Arabi. (2013). The Interpreter of Desires (Tarjuman al-Ashwaq). Istanbul: Iz Publications. (In Turkish)
18.Kocharli, F. (1962). Mirza Fatali Akhundov (1811–1878). In Mirza Fatali Akhundov (Collection of Articles), pp. 21–45. Baku: Azerbaijan SSR Academy of Sciences Publishing. (In Azerbaijani)
19.Kurth-Voigt, L. E., & McClain, W. H. (1977). Friedrich von Bodenstedt’s letters to Hermann Costenoble. Archiv für Geschichte des Buchwesens, 18, 799–962. (In German)
20.Makovelsky, A. O. (1955). On the worldview of Mirza Shafi. Proceedings of the Institute of History and Philosophy, VII, 192–212. Baku: Publishing House of the Academy of Sciences of the Azerbaijan SSR. (In Russian)
21.Mumtaz, S. (2005). Mirza Shafi Vazeh. Baku: Nurlan. (In Azerbaijani)
22.Rafili, M. (1958). Mirza Shafi in World Literature (On the Literary Legacy of Mirza Shafi and Friedrich Bodenstedt’s Plagiarism). Baku: Azerneshr. (In Russian)
23.Rappich, H. (1964). Turgenev and Bodenstedt. Translated from German by L. M. Brodskaya. Literary Heritage, 73(2), 333–354. (In Russian)
24.Seyidzade, A. A. (1940). Mirza Shafi or Bodenstedt? (On the origin, scope, and character of Friedrich Bodenstedt’s plagiarism). Baku: AGU. (In Russian)
25.Seyidzade, A.-A. (1969). Mirza Shafi Sadyk-ogly Vazeh. Baku: Azerbaijan State Publishing. (In Russian)
26.Semevsky, M. I. (1887). Memories of Friedrich Bodenstedt, 1841–1887. Russian Antiquity, 54, 409–422. St. Petersburg. (In Russian)
27.Schiller, F. P. (1934). The Poetry of the German Revolution of 1848: A Historical and Literary Essay. Moscow: State Publishing House for Fiction. (In Russian)
28.Vazeh, M. Sh. (1961). Songs (Trans. by A. Aslanov). Baku: Ushaggenchnashr. (In Azerbaijani)
29.Yadigar, F. (2010). Mirza Shafi Vazeh and Bodenstedt: Interpretations and Facts. Baku: Tahsil NPM. (In Azerbaijani)
30.Yenikolopov, I. K. (1938). The Poet Mirza Shafi. Baku: Publishing House of the Azerbaijani Branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences. (In Russian)
31.Yenikolopov, I. K. (1975). Contemporaries on Bakikhanov. Baku: Elm. (In Russian)