Comparison of Two Poems Named ‘Jerusalem’: Nizār Qabbānī’s Arabic ‘al-Quds’ and Else Lasker-Schüler’s German ‘Jerusalem’

Abstract

Nizār b. Tawfīq Qabbānī was among the most famous poets of modern Arabic literature. The reason why he gained such a great reputation in Arabic literature is that he was very active in expressing the problems of Palestine. Especially for the last century, the fate of Palestine and the holy city of these holy lands, Jerusalem, has occupied the minds of many intellectuals from many nations. One of these intellectuals was Else Lasker-Schüler, who wrote her poems in German. Jerusalem, a holy city for all monotheistic religions, is a motif that appears in the poems of both Nizār Qabbānī and Else Lasker-Schüler. It is a remarkable detail that two different poems belonging to the mentioned poets bear the same name, Jerusalem. Nizār Qabbānī’s al-Quds and Else Lasker-Schüler’s Jerusalem are similar to each other in certain respects and differ from each other in some points. In this study, it is aimed to make a comparative analysis of two poems, one in Arabic and the other in German. Qabbānī’s poem was translated word for word in this study in order to make a more accurate comparison, rather than a literary and artistic translation. Similarly, Else Lasker-Schüler’s poem has been translated literally from German to Turkish with the same method. The difference that distinguishes this study from previous respected academic publications and makes this research unique is that a comparative analysis will be made between the poems in question. The importance of this study and the difference that distinguishes it from previous respected academic publications and makes the research unique is that a comparative analysis will be made between the poems in question. Therefore, the scope of this study is limited only to the comparison of the two poems in question. For this purpose, it is planned to use a scientific comparison method.