Hafiz and the Religion of Love in Classical Persian Poetry

by Leonard Lewisohn (Editor)

Overview

The romantic lyricism of the great Persian poet Hafiz (1315-1390) continues to be admired around the world. Recent exploration of that lyricism by Iranian scholars has revealed that, in addition to his masterful use of poetic devices, Hafiz's verse is deeply steeped in the philosophy and symbolism of Persian love mysticism. This innovative volume discusses the aesthetic theories and mystical philosophy of the classical Persian love-lyric (ghazal) as particularly exemplified by Hafiz (who, along with Rumi and Sa'di, is Persia's most celebrated poet). For the first time in western literature, Hafiz's rhetoric of romance is situated within the broader context of what scholars refer to as 'Love Theory' in Arabic and Persian poetry in particular and Islamic literature more generally. Contributors from both the West and Iran conduct a major investigation of the love lyrics of Hafiz and of what they signified to that high culture and civilization which was devoted to the School of Love in medieval Persia. The volume will have strong appeal to scholars of the Middle East, medieval Islamic literature, and the history and culture of Iran.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780857736604
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication date:	06/02/2010
Series:	International Library of Iranian Studies
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	360
File size:	4 MB

About the Author

Leonard Lewisohn is Lecturer in Persian and Sufi Literature at Exeter University. His previous books include The Art of Spiritual Flight: Farid al-Din 'Attar and the Persian Sufi Tradition (I.B.Tauris, 2006, edited with Christopher Shackle) and The Heritage of Sufism, vols 1-3 (1999).

Table of Contents

List of Contributors
List of Abbreviations
List of Contributors
List of Abbreviations

Foreword

Hafiz of Shiraz
Peter Avery (Cambridge University)

I. Introduction: Hafiz in the Socio-historical and Literary Milieu of Medieval Persia

Part 1: Hafiz in Shiraz

Cité de l'amour
Shiraz and the Galaxy of Fourteenth-century Persian Poetry
The Hafizocentricism of Persianate Civilization and the Qur'an
Hafiz's Life and Times
Hafiz in the Courtly Milieu of Shiraz

Part 2: Hafiz's Erotic Spirituality

Hafiz and the Inspired Libertine (rind)
The Rindan: Mafia of Medieval Persia
Hafiz's Malamati Ethic and the Rite of Spiritual Vagabonds (qalandar?)
The Inspired Libertine in Hafiz's Erotic Theology
The Art of Erotic Contemplation (shahid-bazi)
The Erotic Gaze: Contemplation of Human Beauty sub specie aeternitatis (nazar-bazi)

Part 3: The Scope and Contents of the Volume
Acknowledgements

Leonard Lewisohn (University of Exeter)

II. Hafiz and the Religion of Love in Classical Persian Poetry

The Principles of the Religion of Love in Classical Persian Poetry
Husayn Ilahi-Ghomshei (Former Director, National Library of Tehran)

The Erotic Spirit: Love, Man and Satan in Hafiz's Poetry
Ali Asghar Seyed-Ghorab (Leiden University, The Netherlands)

The Radiance of Epiphany: the Vision of Beauty and Love in Hafiz's Poem of Pre-Eternity
Leili Anvar (Institut National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales, Paris)

III. Hafiz and the Persian Sufi Tradition

Hafiz and the Sufi
C.H. de Fouchecour (Professeur emerite de l'Universite de la Sorbonne Nouvelle, Paris III)

The Religion of Love and the Puritans of Islam: Sufi Sources of Hafiz's Anti-clericalism
Leonard Lewisohn (University of Exeter)

Jalal al-Din Davani's Interpretation of Hafiz
Carl W. Ernst (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)


IV. Hafiz's Romantic Imagery and Language of Love

Transfiguring Love: Perspective Shifts and Contextualization of Experience in Hafiz's Ghazals
James Morris (Boston College)

Semiotics of the Dawn in the Poetry of Hafiz
Franklin Lewis (University of Chicago)

Hafiz and the Language of Love in Nineteenth-Century English and American Poetry
Parvin Loloi (Independent Scholar, U.K.)


List of Abbreviations
Bibliography
Index
Foreword

Hafiz of Shiraz
Peter Avery (Cambridge University)

I. Introduction: Hafiz in the Socio-historical and Literary Milieu of Medieval Persia

Part 1: Hafiz in Shiraz

Cité de l'amour
Shiraz and the Galaxy of Fourteenth-century Persian Poetry
The Hafizocentricism of Persianate Civilization and the Qur'an
Hafiz's Life and Times
Hafiz in the Courtly Milieu of Shiraz

Part 2: Hafiz's Erotic Spirituality

Hafiz and the Inspired Libertine (rind)
The Rindan: Mafia of Medieval Persia
Hafiz's Malamati Ethic and the Rite of Spiritual Vagabonds (qalandar?)
The Inspired Libertine in Hafiz's Erotic Theology
The Art of Erotic Contemplation (shahid-bazi)
The Erotic Gaze: Contemplation of Human Beauty sub specie aeternitatis (nazar-bazi)

Part 3: The Scope and Contents of the Volume
Acknowledgements

Leonard Lewisohn (University of Exeter)

II. Hafiz and the Religion of Love in Classical Persian Poetry

The Principles of the Religion of Love in Classical Persian Poetry
Husayn Ilahi-Ghomshei (Former Director, National Library of Tehran)

The Erotic Spirit: Love, Man and Satan in Hafiz's Poetry
Ali Asghar Seyed-Ghorab (Leiden University, The Netherlands)

The Radiance of Epiphany: the Vision of Beauty and Love in Hafiz's Poem of Pre-Eternity
Leili Anvar (Institut National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales, Paris)

III. Hafiz and the Persian Sufi Tradition

Hafiz and the Sufi
C.H. de Fouchecour (Professeur emerite de l'Universite de la Sorbonne Nouvelle, Paris III)

The Religion of Love and the Puritans of Islam: Sufi Sources of Hafiz's Anti-clericalism
Leonard Lewisohn (University of Exeter)

Jalal al-Din Davani's Interpretation of Hafiz
Carl W. Ernst (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)


IV. Hafiz's Romantic Imagery and Language of Love

Transfiguring Love: Perspective Shifts and Contextualization of Experience in Hafiz's Ghazals
James Morris (Boston College)

Semiotics of the Dawn in the Poetry of Hafiz
Franklin Lewis (University of Chicago)

Hafiz and the Language of Love in Nineteenth-Century English and American Poetry
Parvin Loloi (Independent Scholar, U.K.)


List of Abbreviations
Bibliography
Index