A comparative study of the Poetry of Hafez and Emerson

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

• Mahmooh Fotoohi
• Zohreh Tayebi

10.22067/jls.v43i2.8395

Abstract

The influence of Persian poetry on American literature is one of the discussions that have been reviewed to a lesser degree by those, who have done research in the field of comparative literature. The subject of the current article is to examine the influence of Hafez of Shiraz on the romantic poet and the transcendentalist philosopher, Ralph Waldo Emerson. The given research first gives a short introduction on his life and framework of thought, then introduces Emerson’s literary style, and provides information on his acquaintance with Hafez through German median texts. The second part examines Hafez’s personality in the eyes of the American poet-philosopher, and evaluates the quality of Emerson’s translations of the works of Hafez. In the final part, through a comparative study of Emerson’s and Hafez’s poetry, intellectual and stylistic similarities of the two poets, and the extent of Hafez’s influence on Emerson are examined. Hafez’s influence on Emerson is not only evident in his contents and imagination forms, but also in his intellectual framework. These similarities are illustrated through citation of articles, as well as the poetry of Emerson and their comparison with Hafez’s poetry.

Key words: Hafez of Shiraz, Emerson, American Literature, influence of Eastern Literature on the West.

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