Translators’ Agency in English Anthologies of Persian Poetry: Paratextual Analysis[Latin Thesis]

Amir Reza Moslehi

Taking the sociological path of translation, the present study investigated translators’ agency based on the prefaces some Anglo-American translators provided for their English translation of Persian poetry anthologies. The study was to answer this general question of how translators’ agency can be analyzed based on the collected data in the prefaces. Translator’s agency, as Paloposki defines, refers to the translators’ everyday work, activities, roles and their perception of their duties, which are all revealed through the paratexts they provide. Thus, the purpose was to scrutinize the prefaces to explore the translator’s agency based on Paloposki’s model and also discover the image of the Persian language and literature portrayed in the paratexts. To answer the research questions, the prefaces were thematically analyzed to see what they might say about the translator’s activities and roles, i.e., their agency. Following that, the generated themes were discussed by the definitions proposed by Paloposki in her model. The results showed the content of the prefaces could be said to majorly revolve around one general theme: providing the reader with positive images of the Persian language and literature. That is to say, the translators played the role of guides who were trying to show the elegance of Persian literature to their readers. This finding signified that the English anthologies did not correspond to the colonial ideological/poetological images and tents common in the English world. Based on these principles, non-English literary works are artistically incompetent, it is English translation that grants them aesthetic features. However, this study proved that the English translators did not follow these tents. Put differently, the translators had moved against the English hegemony and employed English translation to act against English imperialism.