‎"SHAKESPEARE, WILLIAM. [Translated by:] ÖRIKAGASIZADE HASAN SIRRI.‎
‎Venedik Taciri [Turkish, i.e. ""The merchant of Venice""] - [THE FIRST WORK BY SHAKESPEARE, TRANSLATED DIRECTLY FROM ENGLISH, TO BE PUBLISHED IN TURKEY]‎

‎Istanbul, Matbaa-i Ebuzziya, 1301 [1884]. 8vo (180 x 120 mm). Uncut, unopened. Unbound without wrappers as issued. Turkish in Arabic script. 11 loose stapled gatherings, as issued. Extremities with soiling and first leaf missing lower 5 mm, far from affecting text. Last leaf detached. Internally clean. A good copy of a very fragile publication. 176 pp. ‎

Reference : 60040

‎Extremely rare first Turkish translation Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice - The first work by Shakespeare, translated directly from English, to be published in Turkey, one of the very first translations of any English literature into Turkish. As Ottoman power was waning, some sultans developed a passion for Shakespeare. Sultan Abdülhamid II, who ruled about 34 years and earned fame as a despot, was a theatre buff with an intense interest in Shakespeare's tragedies and comedies. It was rumored in the late 19th century that when The Merchant of Venice was presented at the special exclusive palace theatre in ?stanbul, and Shylock began to sharpen his knife to take his revenge, the Sultan became apprehensive, actually so scared that he ran out screaming and caused the play to come to an abrupt end. The Sultan later reportedly said: ""Abandon such frightening scenes"" instead, present performances that will make us laugh"". ""The young translator, while adhering to the original, added the translator's notes to explain to the Turkish reader certain cultural features of the text [8, p. 43]. The translator himself remarked that, despite having a good command of the English language due to the specifics of Shakespeare's style, he sometimes needed to refer to French translations of the work to clarify certain points. Some translation tricks that Hasan Sirri resorted to at the time were interesting and justified. In most Shakespearean replicas with the word Jew he replaced the name of the hero - Shylock, probably in order to bypass possible conflicting moments [8, p. 45]. After all, Hasan Sirri himself occupied the position of a civil servant at the time of the translation and, given the national diversity of the Ottoman state at that time, his decision to ""avoid sharp corners"" was correct. Reading the translation of Hasan Sirri, it is also interesting to observe its accuracy in relation to the Turkish cultural heritage"" (Prushkovska1, TURKISH TRANSLATIONS OF SHAKESPEARE'S WORKS) Kitabhane-i Ebüzziya was a series published by the Turkish publisher Ebüzziya Mehmet Tevfik Bey in order to present classical and contemporary literature to a wider Turkish speaking audience.‎