The Persian Presence In Victorian Poetry

A study of the wealth of meanings that 'Persia' - real or imagined - held for Victorian poetryTakes a broad, interdisciplinary approach to a significant strand in the 'Oriental' texture of Victorian poetry Contributes to a growing body of research on the process of cultural exchange between the West and the 'Orient' Provides the first systematic index of nineteenth-century 'Persianised' poemsOffers a distinctive mix of history and literature, dealing with an array of texts, ranging from ancient Greece to nineteenth-century British travel writings The Persian Presence in Victorian Poetry surveys the variety of ways in which Persia, and the multitude of ideological, historical, cultural and political notions that it embodied, were received, circulated and appropriated. Providing the first systematic index of nineteenth-century poems that were in any way involved with Persia, the book explores its presence across a broad range of works incorporating literary, historical and cultural material.

The Persian Presence in Victorian Poetry surveys the variety of ways in which Persia, and the multitude of ideological, historical, cultural and political notions that it embodied, were received, circulated and appropriated.

Comprehensive treatment of the influence of Persian poetry upon English & American literature. Contains a definitive bibliography.

The impact of Persian life and literature upon Victorian England was tremendous. It found its public demonstration in the visit of the Shah, but the number of men of letters who turned to the Persian classics for inspiration were as numerous as they were great: William Jones, Charles Murray, Edward Browne, George Borrow, Richard Burton, Edward Palmer and, of course, Fitzgerald, translator of the Rubaiyat.

The second volume in this series presents the reader with an extensive study of some major genres of Persian poetry from the first centuries after the rise of Islam to the end of the Timurid era and the inauguration of Safavid rule in the beginning of the sixteenth century. The authors explore the development of poetic genres, from the panegyric (qaside), to short lyrical poems (ghazal), and the quatrains (roba'i), tracing the stylistic evolution of Persian poetry up to 1500 and examine the vital role of these poetic forms within the rich landscape of Persian literature.

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.

"Hasan Javadi presents a survey of the subject often only briefly mentioned, or entirely disregarded, in many histories of English Literature. Students of that literature know of Edward FitzGerald's Ruba'iyyat or Matthew Arnold's Sohrab and Rustum, but many are unaware of the fascination that the East, including Persia, has exercised over European minds. Though dealing primarily with English literature, Javadi includes in his account some continental European Orientalists of note as well. Beginning in the late Middle Ages when the Bible and the classics were the main sources of information about Persia; the book covers the 16th and 17th centuries, when travel was beginning to increase Western knowledge about the East. There is a detailed account of Persian themes in Romantic poetry and prose, and a discussion of the works of travelers and novelists such as James Morier, whose Hajji Baba of Ispahan is still a popular novel for many Iranians."--BOOK JACKET.