Talk:Oisín

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Proposed artcle[edit]

I don't think Oisín and Ossian are duplicates. Oisín is a character from Irish and Scottish Fenian tradition. Ossian is a character from a specific work by a specific author (MacPherson). The distinction is important and should be maintained. So oppose merge. --Nicknack009 18:33, 2 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Although I see from the intro of the Ossian article somebody's been muddying the waters. --Nicknack009 18:37, 2 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Oppose Merge[edit]

The whole MacPherson/Ossian story deserves to be told on Wikipedia however it shouldn't be told here.

Discussions of the ancient Gaelic myths should be on this page.

The Ossian episode should be noted here as just one modern reinterpretation of those old stories with a link to a separate page discussing MacPhersons works.Filceolaire 10:04, 8 July 2006 (UTC)[reply]

The consensus seems to be, keep the pages separate, but clearly distinguished. I've done this with a little rewriting and a clarifying comment at the top of the Ossian article, and removed the merge tags.--Nicknack009 16:20, 15 July 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Oisin meat[edit]

Could something be added to say that young venison is referred to as Oisin too? 172.203.181.93 18:30, 28 June 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Transaltion/creativity issues - Macpherson[edit]

I would like to suggest the addition of a _short_ (one line?) reference to issues about creativity in translation - specifically to do with Macpherson's Ossian. I am proposing this for the Ossian page, but perhaps a short line added at the end of the Ossian section here wouldn't hurt?

Just as an example of what I am talking about, and why this could be considered important: the renowned "Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam" translated by Edward Fitzgerald is sometimes referred to as "The Rubaiyat of FitzOmar", not out of petty criticism, but out of positive recognition for the creativity he displayed in his translation. It is sometimes difficult to track some of Fitz's passsages in the original (i.e. he seems to have invented some). One of the themes of Argentinian Jorge Luis Borges' writing was whether a translator could actually improve a piece, and how much could be added. Yet Fitzgerald's creative and free translation is regarded as a classic, but some still regard Mac Pherson's compilation as somehow tainted. It does seem as though Mac Pherson's name was smeared out of a rather petty and narrow view of what literature and translation should be about (perhaps this was politically and culturally motivated in the Britain of the time?)

This also touches upon broader issues in literature everywhere.

Perhaps a one-line reference to Fitzgerald's example at the end of the Ossian paragraph?

Any thoughts or comments?

Oisinoc 16:54, 15 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Sounds like an interesting perspective, but I'd restrict it to Ossian, which is about the character in MacPherson's poems, rather than here, which is about the character from the Fenian Cycle. One's based on the other, but the two are distinct, and there's no need to duplicate articles unnecessarily. --Nicknack009 18:23, 15 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, actually, the more I thought about that, the more appropriate it seemed to keep it in the article where it was strictly relevant. Thanks. Oisinoc 23:30, 15 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]