Review of the German Translation of Ghazals by Saadi

The poetic form of the ghazal did not exist in German literature until the Romantic period, when it became known primarily through the German translation of Hafez's Divan into German. It was employed by great poets of that period, such as Goethe, as a free adaptation of the ghazal in the West-Eastern Divan. The structure of the Persian ghazal differs significantly from the typical German poetic forms in terms of rhythm and rhyme. In some written and translated examples, the ghazal’s structure and rhyme scheme have been exaggerated. The difficulty of writing a ghazal in German lies in finding the right rhyme. For this reason, the poem often adopts an artificial structure, which diminishes its beauty. In this article, after briefly introducing the structure of German poetry and presenting some German lyric poets and translators, the German translations of selected examples of Saadi's ghazals will be analyzed from the perspective of rhyme, the transfer of the poet's pseudonym in the translations, and other notable features of these translations. 
Introduction:
The poetic structure of the ghazal did not originally exist in German literature. However, during the Romantic period, especially after Hafez's Divan was translated into German, the ghazal became known in German literary circles. It was subsequently employed by prominent poets of that era, such as Goethe, who used a free form of the ghazal in his West-Eastern Divan. The form of the Persian ghazal differs significantly from the typical structure of German poetry in terms of rhythm and rhyme. In some written and translated examples, the ghazal's structure and rhyme scheme have been exaggerated. The challenge of composing a ghazal in German lies in finding the appropriate rhyme, which often results in an artificial structure that diminishes the poem's beauty. In this article, after briefly outlining the structure of German poetry and introducing some German ghazal poets and translators, the German translations of several ghazals by Saadi are examined and analyzed from the perspectives of rhyme, the transfer of the poet's pseudonym, and notable features of these translations. Poets renowned for writing ghazals in German literature include Rückert and Platen. The number of translations of Saadi's works in the 19th century was high; however, most translators focused on Golestan and Bostan, paying less attention to the ghazal, ghaside or ghet’e. Therefore, it is necessary to introduce some examples of these translations.
Materials and Methods:
This research is done by library method and text analysis and translation criticism.
After mentioning a brief history of the position and reason for the importance of Persian Literature and the form of the ghazal in the 19th century in German-speaking countries, as well as a brief introduction to the structure of German poetry, some examples of different translations of Saadi's ghazals are examined, compared and analyzed.
In the 19th century, Persian literature found a prominent and important position among German-speaking writers and translators. Considering that during this period, some of the best, most complete, and least erroneous translations of Saadi's works were done in German, it is necessary to introduce some of these works, their translators, and their characteristics to the literary society of Iran. So far, the translations of Saadi's ghazals in German have not been introduced.
To facilitate the comparison and analysis, the author has provided the literal Persian translation of the German examples in the text.
The main questions of this research:
- What was the reason for the importance and status of Persian literature in German-speaking countries in the 19th century?
- Is the ghazal form known in German poetry?
- Did the German writers only translate the ghazals, or were there examples written in German?
- Does the structure of the German poem accept all the features of the ghazal format or not?
Results and Discussion:
The distinctive form and pleasing rhythm of the Persian ghazal inspired even German-speaking orientalists, who translated Persian literary works into German, to persist in attempting to convey the ghazal’s structure from Persian into German. Numerous examples of such translations can be found in the works of Friedrich Ruckert. Other translators, including Karl Heinrich Graf, one of the most renowned translators of Saadi's works into German, also attempted to incorporate examples of Ghazal in their translation collections. Graf's reputation as a translator primarily stems from his translations of Saadi's Golestan and Bostan, as he is among the few who have fully translated both Golestan and Bostan into German. In addition, it has selections from Saadi's general works, including ghaside and ghazals, which were published in different issues of the Magazine of the German Orientalist Association. Except for minor errors or slight differences in concept and content, the German translations closely resemble the original text. However, in terms of the text's aesthetic qualities, literary devices, and especially the selection and use of rhymes, some weaknesses are apparent. These issues stem from differences in poetic and linguistic structure.
Conclusion:
In the 19th century, with the expansion of relations between the West and the East, knowledge of Persian writers and literature among Europeans, especially in German-speaking countries, increased significantly. Fueled by growing interest in Oriental studies and the desire to learn the Persian language, many scholars in this field focused on translating Persian literary works into German. Due to the differences in the poetic structures of these two languages, translators faced significant limitations and challenges in rendering poetic forms such as ghazals into German. Consequently, they were compelled to adopt various strategies to address these issues. For example, conventional rhyme is commonly used in German poetry, where stanzas are arranged one below the other, unlike Persian poetry, which often places verses on a single line. Finding the right rhyme in German poetry is very challenging. As a result, rhyme is predominantly used in most ghazals. The elegance and beauty of Persian poetry are rarely captured in German translations, therefore, the content is usually translated instead. A closer examination and comparison of the translations with the original texts reveal evident mistakes in the translations. In addition to translating poetry, poets such as Ruckert and Platen also composed ghazals in German. However, due to the aforementioned challenges, these works met with limited success and, in the German language, remained somewhat artificial in nature.