MANFALUTI’S ODE ON PAUL AND VIRGINIA: TRANSLATION AND COMMENTS
No Thumbnail Available
Date
2015
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Department of Arabic, Faculty of Arts, University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Nigeria.
Abstract
The Egyptian educational contact with Europe in the 19th century yielded good results, and the mission led by Tahtawi to acquire modern knowledge in France gave his forty-man team the ample opportunity to see French life; it also enabled them to have precise observations of the modern world as well as the greatest and most flourishing society of their day. Tahtawi’s book published shortly after his return from France entitled: Takhlis al-Ibriz fi talkhis Bariz where he described his stay in Paris, the manners and customs of the French, their cleanliness, love of work and disapproval of laziness, their intellectual curiosity and social morality as good qualities that endeared them to the hearts of younger Egyptian writers and created in them the curiosity to know more about the French, their life and literature. They were interested in reading the works of Voltaire, Condillac, Rousseau, Hugo, Musset, La Fontaine and a host of other French writers. Though, Manfaluti did not see France during his lifetime, but he admired Paul et Virginie a novel published by Bernardin de Saint-Pierre in 1788 which he adapted and translated into Arabic as: Al- Fadilah (The Virtue) in 1923 with the uncertainty whether he learned French. The aim of this paper is to translate and make comments on the Manfaluti’s ode on Paul and Virginia, the symbols of love, loyalty and sacrifice. They are very good friend since birth, who fell in love and remain as lovers till the end of their lives. The ode has 39 verses ending with hamzah and composed in meter of Ramal. This paper consists of 1, Introduction 2, Manfaluti and Bernardin 3, Paul and Virginia 4, Translation and Comment 5, Conclusion.
Description
Keywords
MANFALUTI’S ODE, PAUL, VIRGINIA, TRANSLATION, COMMENTS,EGYPTIAN.