The following is my translation of a famous ghazal by Hafiz, one which, despite being well-beloved by readers of his original Persian, is not rendered into English nearly so often as his poems that concern love or allow mystical interpretation. Yet is it is a poem that is quintessentially Hafiz: melancholic, enigmatic, replete with allusions both literary and cultural, and poignant in the power of its expression.
Month: January 2018
Mawlaví (Rumi), O dweller in my soul
The following is my translation into rhyming verse of a ghazal by Mawlavi, or Rumi, as he is known in the West, a man whose is scarcely in need of introduction. Mawlavi is often quoted by Baha’u’llah and his poetry, most notably his sprawling Masnavi, remain inspiring works replete with moral and spiritual wealth….
Háfiz, The breast is surfeited with pain
The following is my translation of a ghazal by Hafiz, one of the greatest poets in the Persian literary tradition.
A ghazal is common form in classical Persian poetry, and consists of seven or more lines of verse. A line, or bayt, in Persian poetry consists of two parts, much like couplets in English….