AJEEB, YARA (2026) Translating Political Humour in Kalila wa Dimna. Masters thesis, Concordia University.
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Abstract
This thesis examines how political humour changes under shifting conditions of power. My argument focuses on “The Lion and the Hare,” a central fable of Kalila wa Dimna. My close comparison of Ibn al-Muqaffaʿ’s Arabic text and Ramsay Wood’s modern English adaptation shows how humour functions differently in contexts where risky political speech exposes speakers to severe government punishment than in contexts where such danger is less common.
In the Abbasid milieu (mid–8th century CE), humour and animal allegory enable indirect political critique under conditions of surveillance, patronage, and sovereign volatility. In this context, humour allows critique to circulate without it becoming easily legible as accusation.
Ramsay Wood’s 2008 Penguin Classics English adaptation reveals how these dynamics shift when sovereign power is removed. Writing for a contemporary Anglophone audience insulated from political reprisal, Wood extracts the fable from its original narrative frame and reshapes its humour. This contrast demonstrates how translation reorganizes the meanings and risks of humour, shifting responsibility for critique from characters and narrators within the fable to a protected readership.
By treating translation as a political act rather than a neutral transfer, this thesis emphasizes that Kalila wa Dimna is political storytelling whose humour is inseparable from the historical conditions of its production. The project contributes to debates on the politics of humour and the challenges of translation across historical periods and cultures.
| Divisions: | Concordia University > Faculty of Arts and Science > English |
|---|---|
| Item Type: | Thesis (Masters) |
| Authors: | AJEEB, YARA |
| Institution: | Concordia University |
| Degree Name: | M.A. |
| Program: | English |
| Date: | April 2026 |
| Thesis Supervisor(s): | Bobker, Danielle |
| ID Code: | 997148 |
| Deposited By: | Yara Ajeeb |
| Deposited On: | 29 Jun 2026 14:05 |
| Last Modified: | 29 Jun 2026 14:05 |
References:
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