Exploring the Invariant Core

An Analysis of Multiple Translations of a Selection from Iqbal’s Shikwa

Abstract

This paper is an attempt to explore the invariant core among the three English translations of selected poetry from Iqbal’s Shikwa. The study identifies that the complex nature of poetry makes it difficult for the translators to transfer the ST in terms of both content and form. Therefore, good poetry is translated not only once, but several times, by different translators, with their different approaches and strategies. Accordingly, Iqbal’s Shikwa and Jawab-e-Shikwa is translated by three translators, including two foreign and one indigenous translator. This is a qualitative research, and Viney and Darbelnet’s model of translational analysis was used as it best suited the qualitative nature of the present research. The study is delimited to the three selected translations of a stanza from Iqbal’s famous poem Shikwa rendered by the three translators A.J. Arberry, KhushwanthSingh, and Sultan Zahoor Akhtar. The analysis of the translations has shown that in rendering the original text, the translators have used different procedures and strategies which consequently resulted in various losses, specifically in terms of form, however, the invariant core, which comprises both theme and tone, remains almost the same.