Indian Poetry

Arnold, Edwin, Sir, 1832-1904Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.4

Word count: 210K words
Chapters: 21

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Indian Poetry by Sir Edwin ArnoldAuthor: Arnold, Edwin, Sir, 1832-1904,Language: English, Class: PK: Language and Literatures: Indo-Iranian literatures, Release Date: Jul 4, 2008

Editor's review

Indian Poetry is an anthology of Indian poetry in English translation compiled by Sir Edwin Arnold and available as a public-domain literary resource. Its value lies not in offering a contemporary scholarly edition with careful collation and notes, but in giving Chinese readers a glimpse of Indian classical poetry in English transcription through the eyes of a Victorian translator. Arnold was known for translating Eastern literature, and his versions prize rhythm and readability, making the book a useful introduction to how Indian poetry entered the English-speaking world. Classified under Indo-Iranian literatures within language and literature, it is suited to fragmented reading in both length and arrangement, and also to comparison with modern translations of Indian epics and Sanskrit poetry. Readers should note that this is a 19th-century English translation whose choices and tastes bear the mark of its time, and it should not be taken as an authoritative text of Indian poetry. For readers studying translation history, Orientalism, or comparative literature, the book offers an interesting intermediate sample; for general readers who want only Chinese translations of poems, other Chinese versions will be needed.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers with a beginning interest in Indian classical poetry who want to start with an English anthology
Students of English literature or comparative literature who need a public-domain text for coursework
Readers interested in the history of 19th-century Orientalist translation tastes
English-language readers who enjoy short poetry anthologies and fragmented reading

Not a good fit for

Scholars of classical literature seeking an authoritative critical edition or detailed annotations
Readers who want only Chinese translations of poems and do not wish to deal with English versions and period vocabulary
Beginners who need a systematic history of Indian poetry rather than an anthology

Reading tips

Read the table of contents and preface first to understand the selection, then choose poems of interest for close reading.
Keep a modern translation of Indian poetry at hand for comparison and note Arnold's additions, cuts, and rewrites.
Mark the handling of rhythm in the translations separately as material for notes on translation history.
Two or three poems a day is enough; there is no need to read straight through, and the point is to sense the translator's taste in selection.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book a Chinese translation or the original English book?

This is an English poetry anthology translated by Sir Edwin Arnold, released in electronic form by Project Gutenberg; the text is in English, not a Chinese translation. Chinese readers need some English reading ability or should use it alongside other Chinese materials.

Can Arnold's translation be treated as an authoritative version of Indian poetry?

It should not be seen that way. Arnold's English versions are 19th-century literary transcriptions that emphasize readability and rhythm and reflect the translator's own choices and period taste. They can serve as a window into the history of Indian poetry in English translation, but modern scholarly translations should be consulted for study of the originals or for citation.

Can someone with no background in Indian literature read this book?

Yes, but it is best to learn some basic background on Indian epics and classical poetry first; otherwise the selected poems may seem like isolated English poems. For light browsing, it can also be read as an anthology in the style of Victorian English poetry.

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About the author

Arnold, Edwin, Sir, 1832-1904 Author

Sir Edwin Arnold (1832–1904) was an English poet and scholar known for long narrative poems drawn from Eastern religion and literature. His best-known work, The Light of Asia, recounts the life and teachings of the Buddha in verse; it circulated widely in the English-speaking world and helped make his rendering of Eastern thought one of the channels through which Victorian readers encountered Buddhism. His other representative work, Indian Poetry, reflects his sustained interest in and translation of Indian literary traditions. His writing generally employs an expansive, rhythmic poetic language, emphasizing narrative and atmosphere, and is marked by distinctly Eastern subject matter. Two of his works are held in this collection. Public information on the details of his life is limited, so no invented particulars are supplied here; the focus is on the themes and style of his works.