On Feb. 2, 2024, 7:14 p.m. hamed:
Persian literature has had a significant impact on western literature, especially in the genres of poetry and romance. Some of the ways that Persian literature influenced western literature are:
The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, a collection of quatrains (four-line poems) that express the poet’s views on life, death, love, and fate, was translated into English by Edward FitzGerald in the 19th century and became one of the most popular and quoted poems in the English language.
The West-östlicher Diwan (West-Eastern Divan) of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, one of the greatest German poets and writers, was inspired by the ghazals (lyrical poems) of Hafiz, a 14th-century Persian poet who celebrated love, wine, and mysticism. Goethe’s work is considered a masterpiece of intercultural dialogue and literary synthesis between the occident and the orient.
The Shahnameh (Book of Kings) of Ferdowsi, the epic poem that recounts the history and legends of ancient Iran, was a source of inspiration for many western writers and artists, such as Lord Byron, Matthew Arnold, Richard Wagner, and Jorge Luis Borges. The Shahnameh is regarded as the national epic of Iran and one of the world’s greatest literary works.
The Renaissance movement in Europe revived the interest in classical Greek and Roman literature, which had some connections with ancient Persian literature. For example, the Cyropaedia of Xenophon, a Greek biography of Cyrus the Great, was translated into Latin and influenced the political thought of Machiavelli and Rousseau.
The Enlightenment era in Europe fostered a spirit of curiosity and exploration, which led to the discovery and translation of many Persian literary works, such as the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, the Shahnameh of Ferdowsi, and the Gulistan and Bustan of Saadi. These works inspired many western poets and writers, such as Edward FitzGerald, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Henry David Thoreau.
The Romanticism movement in Europe emphasized the themes of imagination, emotion, and individualism, which resonated with the Persian poetic tradition of ghazals (lyrical poems) and mysticism. Many western poets, such as Percy Bysshe Shelley, Lord Byron, and Victor Hugo, admired and imitated the style and content of Persian poets, such as Hafiz, Rumi, and Attar .
The Modernism movement in Europe and America challenged the conventional forms and norms of literature and experimented with new techniques and perspectives. Some of the influences of Persian literature on modernist writers include the use of symbolism, imagery, irony, and paradox by T.S. Eliot, the incorporation of Persian myths and legends by James Joyce, and the adaptation of Persian stories and motifs by Marcel Proust .