Beyond the Stars

Orwell’s Clarity and Lakoff’s Conceptual Metaphors**

Abstract

This paper examines the translation of Allama Muhammad Iqbal’s *??? ?????* (*Gabriel’s Flight*) with a dual framework: George Orwell’s six rules for clear writing and George Lakoff’s theory of conceptual metaphors. By aligning poetic translation with Orwell’s call for linguistic clarity, the study demonstrates how metaphor-rich verses can be rendered in English without losing philosophical depth. Simultaneously, Lakoff’s framework reveals how metaphors like “flight,” “horizons,” “skies,” and “caravans” operate as cultural signifiers, connecting the Sufi imagination of Iqbal with universal cognitive patterns. Using a stanza-by-stanza translation, this paper argues that balancing fidelity to source metaphors with Orwellian clarity ensures translations that are both accurate and accessible, bridging Eastern mysticism and Western literary criticism.