Plagiarism of Friedrich Bodenstedt or “songs of Mirza Shafi” Born During the Märzrevolution
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: In the 19th century, the trend of translating Oriental poetry into various Western languages became widespread. One of the Eastern poets who became famous in the West thanks to the translations of Friedrich Bodenstedt, who traveled through the Caucasus, was Mirza Shafi Vazeh. In the 50s of the 19th century, F.Bodenstedt translated and published in German some of the poems of the Azerbaijani poet. The poems, reminiscent of songs, aroused great interest in German societies, which were going through a difficult historical period at that time. In the 70s of the 19th century, F.Bodenstedt’s claims to the authorship of songs raised the issue of plagiarism. F.Bodenstedt began translating Vazeh’s poems in 1848, during the failed Märzrevolution, and completed the translations after its end. The songs closely echoed the interests of the anti-revolutionary German bürgerschaft and played an important role in forming a counter-revolutionary front against the revolution. The popularity of the “Songs of Mirza Shafi”, published in 1851, was linked to the political events that took place in German societies during the post-revolutionary period. “Songs” with its optimistic spirit opposed the pessimistic philosophy of A.Schopenhauer, which became popular against the background of the failure of the revolution. “Songs of Mirza Shafi” arose as a result of political events and the struggle of the revolution against counterrevolution. The neighboring Russian Empire supported the counter-revolutionary processes in every possible way and through its subjects, interfered in political events in German societies. The subjects of the empire also played an important role in F.Bodenstedt’s recognition of the authorship of the “Songs” in “From the Accounts of Mirza Shafi”. The question of plagiarism, which directly follows from these confessions, became relevant in the course of the struggle against revolutionary processes. The authorship of the “Songs” was first raised by Imperial subjects and later the German translator continued and resolved the issue in his favor. Realizing that the revolution would fail, he went over to the side of the counterrevolution. F.Bodenstedt’s fear of revolution led to confessions that later gave rise to the question of plagiarism. F.Bodenstedt’s plagiarism arose as a kind of self-defense reflex. In parallel with the resolution of the political crisis in Germany, the songs began to be forgotten. As “Songs” completed its historical mission in the West, interest in it gradually began to fade from the end of the 19th century. The controversy surrounding the authorship of the “Songs” has lost its relevance. Since the 20s of the 19th century, Mirza Shafi’s copyrights have begun to be restored in his homeland.
Source: Metafizika Journal
Author: Zaur Rashidov
Language: English
Subfield: Literature and Literary Theory
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4414263258
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