Hamlet, English Translation (2013) by Payman Akhlaghi of Poem in Persian (1969) by Ahmad Shamlou (1925-2000)

"Hamlet"
Poem in Persian (1969)
By Ahmad Shamlou (1925-2000)
English Translation (2013)
By Payman Akhlaghi
Photos:
Laurence Olivier, Ahmad Shamlou

Hamlet (1969)
Poem in Persian
By Ahmad Shamlou (1925-2000)

Original English Adaptation
By Payman Akhlaghi (2013)
(First Draft, Published at www.Facebook.com/PAComposer)
هملت، شعر از احمد شاملو، برگردان انگلیسی از پیمان اخلاقی

To be
Or not to be...

That is not the question,
But it's the temptation.

Poisoned wine in the cup,
And the poison-quenched sword,
In the hands of the enemy --
Everything's planned and clear
Beforehand,
And the curtain shall fall
At the known moment.

As if my father had slept
In the garden of Gethsemane,
So that my role turned into
The heritage of his deceiving trust,
And his bed of deception became
The pleasure chamber
Of my uncle!
[I realized these
All of a sudden,
In a chance glance
At the audience.]

Only if trust, like another Satan,
Had not put to sleep this other Abel,
In another Gethsemane,
With a lullaby, whilst ignorant of the affairs,
Oh, God,
Oh, God!

But what a deception,
What a deception!
That the one watching through
The transluscent curtain of darkness
Knows of the whole catastrophe
And recognizes my tragedy
Word by word, letter by letter,
In advance.

Beyond the transluscent curtain of darkness,
The eyes have paid silver and gold coins
For a chance to watch the sight of my pain,
To enjoy the free design of crying tears
In the interrupted voice and breath
Of the one who pretentiously
Looks upon the truth
With suspicion.

What help could I ask of them,
When at the end, they'd require
Both me and my uncle, equally,
To bow before them,
Even though my pain will have called upon them that
Henceforth, Claudius would not be an uncle's name,
But a general concept, a common name.

And the curtain,
At the sealed moment...

And yet,
Since the time when the truth was revealed
To me, as a restless, wandering ghost,
And the stench of the world
Irritated my nostrils
Like the smoke of a torch in fake scenes,
This is not a question, nor a debate,
But a temptation:

To be
Or 
Not to be.

- Ahmad Shamlou, 1969, Iran
- English Adaptation by Payman Akhlaghi (2013, Los Angeles)
© 2013, English translation by Payman Akhalghi.
© All rights reserved for pertinent parties.

(*) The original Persian text may be viewed below, or at the following site: Hamlet, Original Persian
هملت، شعر از احمد شاملو، برگردان انگلیسی از پیمان اخلاقی

(*) Thanks to my erudite friend, Dr. Scott Giles, I was introduced to a poem of the same title by the Russian poet, Boris Pasternak (1890-1960), which may be read Here and Here . The similarities are too many to be dismissed as a mere coincidence; yet the two works stand independent enough in relation to each other, and to the original Shakespeare and theatrical experience described therein, to consider the Shamlou a mere possible adaptation of his Russian colleague's earlier work. In the absence of proper documentation in my source(s), I may safely allow that the Shamlou might have been exposed to the Pasternak, then re-lived it, and came up with his extended variation.

Similarities observed include: the separation of the Character, i.e. the spectator and narrator of the poems, from the actor playing the role; Biblical references, such as Abba, "Father", which identifies Hamlet with Jesus in the Pasternak; while Gethsemane, the garden where the Last Supper takes place, identifies Hamlet's father with Abel, and not Jesus (a difference by error, or a deliberate play with the myths?); the theme of predestined fate, and the deliberate attempt to liberate us the reader from it; the despising look at life's facade, follies and hypocrisy; the presence of the audience. -- Payman Akhlaghi

(*) Payman Akhlaghi is a composer, pianist and piano teacher based in Los Angeles. His repertoire covers Classical music, as well as Persian (Iranian) Music, Pop Music, and Film Music. For information on the lessons in the Greater Los Angeles area, including Beverly Hills, West Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Encino, Brentwood, etc. please call: 310-208-2927. Thank you.

(*) The Persian text of poem Hamlet, from Shamlou's Official Website:

(*) برای متن فارسی شعر "هملت" برگرفته از صفحۀ اصلی احمد شاملو در پایین:

هملت
از شعرها: مرثیه‌های خاک
شاعر: احمد شاملو

بودن
یا نبودن…

بحث در این نیست
وسوسه این است.

□

شرابِ زهرآلوده به جام و
شمشیرِ به‌زهر آب‌دیده
                           در کفِ دشمن. ــ
همه چیزی
             از پیش
                     روشن است و حساب‌شده
و پرده
      در لحظه‌ی معلوم
                          فرو خواهد افتاد.


پدرم مگر به باغِ جتسمانی خفته بود
که نقشِ من میراثِ اعتمادِ فریب‌کارِ اوست
و بسترِ فریبِ او
                   کامگاهِ عمویم!
[من این همه را
                   به‌ناگهان دریافتم،
با نیم‌نگاهی
              از سرِ اتفاق
                            به نظّارگانِ تماشا]


اگر اعتماد
           چون شیطانی دیگر
این هابیلِ دیگر را
                     به جتسمانی دیگر
به بی‌خبری لالا نگفته بود، ــ
خدا را
خدا را!

□

چه فریبی اما،
                چه فریبی!
که آن که از پسِ پرده‌ی نیمرنگِ ظلمت به تماشا نشسته
از تمامیِ فاجعه
آگاه است
و غمنامه‌ی مرا
                  پیشاپیش
حرف به حرف
                بازمی‌شناسد.

□

در پسِ پرده‌ی نیمرنگِ تاریکی
                                   چشم‌ها
                                              نظاره‌ی دردِ مرا
سکه‌ها از سیم و زر پرداخته‌اند
تا از طرحِ آزادِ گریستن
در اختلالِ صدا و تنفسِ آن کس
که متظاهرانه
در حقیقت به‌تردید می‌نگرد
لذتی به کف آرند.

از اینان مدد از چه خواهم، که سرانجام
مرا و عموی مرا
                  به تساوی
در برابرِ خویش به کُرنش می‌خوانند،
هرچند رنجِ من ایشان را ندا درداده باشد که دیگر
کلادیوس
            نه نامِ عمّ
که مفهومی‌ست عام.

و پرده…
در لحظه‌ی محتوم…

□

با این همه
            از آن زمان که حقیقت
چون روحِ سرگردانِ بی‌آرامی بر من آشکاره شد
و گندِ جهان
             چون دودِ مشعلی در صحنه‌های دروغین
منخرینِ مرا آزرد،
بحثی نه
         که وسوسه‌یی‌ست این:

بودن
یا
نبودن.

۱۳۴۸