More poem-free footnotes
Because this amuses me.
(Also I'm still hoping bidding will go magically up and tithenai will have to write us a pome)
Footnotes to Stanza 1
1. The Padishah Begum's “warring brothers” here could technically be any of the four, since each one called himself emperor when their father fell ill; and each one, at some point, fought all the others. However, she surely intends reference to Dara Shikoh (whom she supported politically), and Aurangzeb (whom her sister Roshanara supported). Only Dara Shikoh, after all, posed a real challenge to Aurangzeb; and only he bore the indignity of being declared a Kafir and marched in chains to his execution.
2. FitzGerald's English translation is sometimes considered superior, merely because it maintains the rhyme of the Hindustani mukhammas. I must contest this. Leaving aside the matter of whether it is FitzGerald, or the English tongue itself, that is too heavy-handed to cope with Hindustani rhyme schemes; leaving aside also the question of whether translating a mukhammas rhythm to iambic pentameter is truly a virtuous act; the changes he makes to the poem's content, in order to serve its rhymes, cost the reader many layers of meaning3. In this line, for example, he is forced to leave out Roshanara Begum's name, and thus renders the reference too opaque for comprehension.
3. One must also wonder whether the “missed her” in FitzGerald is an appropriate sentiment for this stanza, or exists merely to rhyme with “sister”.
4. One may wonder how literal these walls were, since Roshanara Begum's last years were spent in forced seclusion.
5. A note of interest: who is “I”in this poem? The Padishah Begum herself is a Mechanical, after all. She was never a child, and when she was made, Roshanara Begum was already a grown woman6. Is her claim to be the same person as the human Begum more than merely political? If so, this surely takes even Sufi mysticism a little far; however, the poem's last line undercuts this reading.
6. Note that FitzGerald obscures this question entirely in service of the rhyme.
7. Is this the same Divine Light spoken of in poetry written by the human Padishah Begum before she died? This line may, if so, be a denial (or at least a reconsideration) of that previous self and her beliefs.
8. Both brothers promised that the sister who supported him would be allowed to marry. Neither followed through. The previous line's reference to justice is therefore rife with irony - as are the following stanzas' references to grace and mercy9.
9. By translating all three as “Allah”, FitzGerald loses this nuance.
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Er... in case it's not clear, the FitzGerald translation, which my scholar has it in for, is as fictional as the original Urdu poem.
----
In other news, going to start transitioning from Flovent to Alvesco as of today, so health might crash again. I'm hoping not, as my brain seems to be maybe coming back, but if I start babbling about pinstriped elephants, that's why.
Also... tried upping font size in my style. Doesn't seem to have accomplished anything?
Also also, any reasonable alternatives for italics here? I failed to think of any.
(Also I'm still hoping bidding will go magically up and tithenai will have to write us a pome)
Footnotes to Stanza 1
1. The Padishah Begum's “warring brothers” here could technically be any of the four, since each one called himself emperor when their father fell ill; and each one, at some point, fought all the others. However, she surely intends reference to Dara Shikoh (whom she supported politically), and Aurangzeb (whom her sister Roshanara supported). Only Dara Shikoh, after all, posed a real challenge to Aurangzeb; and only he bore the indignity of being declared a Kafir and marched in chains to his execution.
2. FitzGerald's English translation is sometimes considered superior, merely because it maintains the rhyme of the Hindustani mukhammas. I must contest this. Leaving aside the matter of whether it is FitzGerald, or the English tongue itself, that is too heavy-handed to cope with Hindustani rhyme schemes; leaving aside also the question of whether translating a mukhammas rhythm to iambic pentameter is truly a virtuous act; the changes he makes to the poem's content, in order to serve its rhymes, cost the reader many layers of meaning3. In this line, for example, he is forced to leave out Roshanara Begum's name, and thus renders the reference too opaque for comprehension.
3. One must also wonder whether the “missed her” in FitzGerald is an appropriate sentiment for this stanza, or exists merely to rhyme with “sister”.
4. One may wonder how literal these walls were, since Roshanara Begum's last years were spent in forced seclusion.
5. A note of interest: who is “I”in this poem? The Padishah Begum herself is a Mechanical, after all. She was never a child, and when she was made, Roshanara Begum was already a grown woman6. Is her claim to be the same person as the human Begum more than merely political? If so, this surely takes even Sufi mysticism a little far; however, the poem's last line undercuts this reading.
6. Note that FitzGerald obscures this question entirely in service of the rhyme.
7. Is this the same Divine Light spoken of in poetry written by the human Padishah Begum before she died? This line may, if so, be a denial (or at least a reconsideration) of that previous self and her beliefs.
8. Both brothers promised that the sister who supported him would be allowed to marry. Neither followed through. The previous line's reference to justice is therefore rife with irony - as are the following stanzas' references to grace and mercy9.
9. By translating all three as “Allah”, FitzGerald loses this nuance.
----
Er... in case it's not clear, the FitzGerald translation, which my scholar has it in for, is as fictional as the original Urdu poem.
----
In other news, going to start transitioning from Flovent to Alvesco as of today, so health might crash again. I'm hoping not, as my brain seems to be maybe coming back, but if I start babbling about pinstriped elephants, that's why.
Also... tried upping font size in my style. Doesn't seem to have accomplished anything?
Also also, any reasonable alternatives for italics here? I failed to think of any.