3. - written in Persian and Arabic
- poets: Firdawsi, Sa’di, Hafez,
Rumi and Omar Khayyam
Persian Literature
“ one of the great literatures of
mankind”
4. AA constaant awareness of how uncontrollaabale aand fleeting life is
A constant awareness of how
uncontrollable and fleeting life is;
accompanied by a belief that the
uncontrollable nature of life adds
to its value and makes it more
enjoyable.
Persian Literature
“ one of the great literatures of
mankind”
5. Phrases
Thousands of friends are far too few, one
enemy is too much.
The wise enemy is better than the
ignorant friend.
The wise enemy lifts you up, the ignorant
friend casts you down.
6. Poem awareness of how uncontrollaabale aand fleeting life is
AA constaant Language
-fresh -flexible
-original -musical
-melodious -sonorous
-full of fire -(softest &
richest
-animated
Characteristics- in the world)
Persian
Poetry
7. AA constaant awareness of how uncontrollaabale aand fleeting life is
-metaphor
-alliteration
-allusion
-antithesis
Poetic Devices
8. Omar Khayyam
18 May 1048 –
4 December 1131
Ghiyath al-Din
Abu'l-Fath Umar
ibn Ibrahim Al-
Nisaburi al-
Khayyami
9. Omar Khayyam
Khayyam, who stitched the
tents of science,
Has fallen in grief's furnace
and been suddenly burned,
The shears of Fate have cut
the tent ropes of his life,
And the broker of Hope has
sold him for nothing!
10. The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam
A collection of about 150 quatrains on the
meaning of life and pleasure of drink
Rubai – quatrain
It has 4 lines in which lines 1, 2 and 4 all
rhyme
Translated to more than 40 languages
11. The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam
1 Awake! for Morning in the Bowl of Night
2 Has flung the Stone that puts the Stars to
Flight:
3 And Lo! the Hunter of the East has caught
4 The Sultan's Turret in a Noose of Light.
12. The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam
The Moving Finger writes, and, having writ,
Moves on: nor all thy Piety nor Wit
Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line,
Nor all thy Tears wash out a Word of it.
20. Arabic Literature
Poetry is the mine of knowledge of the Arabs
and the book of their wisdom, the archive of
their history and the reservoir of their epic
days, the wall that defends their exploits, the
impassable trench that preserves their
glories, the impartial witness for the day of
judgement
23. The One Thousand and One
Nights
Kitāb alf laylah wa-
laylah
a collection of Middle
Eastern and South
Asian stories and folk
tales compiled in
Arabic during the
Islamic Golden Age
Notes de l'éditeur
Image was taken from: http://www.google.com/imgres?q=persian+literature&hl=en&biw=1280&bih=633&gbv=2&tbm=isch&tbnid=ccVWi9p7UUCtdM:&imgrefurl=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persian_literature&docid=2JrgqFjIk43ydM&imgurl=http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c6/Shahnameh3-5.jpg/220px-Shahnameh3-5.jpg&w=220&h=331&ei=FTkFT_-YOor8mAWJu6S3Ag&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=318&vpy=116&dur=2922&hovh=264&hovw=176&tx=116&ty=138&sig=105304052432597647049&page=1&tbnh=138&tbnw=91&start=0&ndsp=23&ved=1t:429,r:1,s:0
Firdawsi (Abu ol-Qasem Mansur) compiled all the inherited tales and legends of the Persian kings into one great national epic, the `Shah-nameh'. Completed in the early 11th century, it contains nearly 60,000 verses in short rhyming couplets. Rumi (Jalal ad-Din ar-Rumi) was the best-known writer of mystical poetry in the masnavi style . His finest work is known simply as the `Masnavi' and comprises, in about 26,000 verses, an encyclopedia of the mystical thought of the 13th century. Many Sufis (Islamic mystics) regard it as second in importance only to the Koran. Jalal was also the author of love lyrics that surpass in beauty even the tales in his `Masnavi'.Sa`di was one of the greatest figures in classical Persian literature. A native of Shiraz, he dedicated `The Orchard', one of his two most famous works, to the local ruler. Written entirely in verse, `The Orchard' consists of stories illustrating the virtues Muslims are supposed to possess. `The Rose Garden', which is mainly prose interspersed with short poems, contains advice, aphorisms, and humorous reflections.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persian_literature
Source:Characteristics of Persian PoetryAinsworth R. SpoffordPages 329 -
Metaphor:afigureofspeechin which aterm or phrase is applied to something to which it is not literallyapplicableinorder to suggest aresemblance. (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/metaphor)Example:St. 52''And that inverted Bowl we call The Sky, Whereunder crawling coop't we live and die, Lift not thy hands to It for help—for It Rolls impotently on as Thou or I.'' Alliteration:The repetition of the same sounds or of the same kinds of sounds at the beginning of words or in stressed syllables (http://www.thefreedictionary.com/alliteration)Example:'Some for the Glories of This World; and some Sigh for the Prophet's Paradise to come; Ah, take the Cash, and let the Credit go, Nor heed the rumble of a distant Drum!'' Allusion:A brief, usually indirect reference to a person, place, or event--real or fictional. (http://grammar.about.com/od/ab/g/allusionterm.htm)Example:St. 49'''Tis all a Chequer-board of Nights and Days Where Destiny with Men for Pieces plays: Hither and thither moves, and mates, and slays, And one by one back in the Closet lays.'' Antithesis:Antithesis - contrary ideas expressed in a balanced sentence. It is the juxtaposition of two words, phrases, clauses, or sentences contrasted or opposed in meaning in such a way as to give emphasis to their contrasting ideas and give the effect of balance. This is a device often used in rhetoric.The word comes from the Greek anti, meaning “against,” and tithenai, which means “to place” or “to set against.” (http://www.enotes.com/literary-terms/antithesis)Example:If my coming were up to me, I’d never be bornAnd if my going were on my accord, I’d go with scornIsn’t it better that in this world, so old and wornNever to be born, neither stay, nor be away torn?
A poet, mathematician and astronomerFrom http://www.gap-system.org/~history/Biographies/Khayyam.html
From http://www.gap-system.org/~history/Biographies/Khayyam.html
Rubai (quatrain), a form of lyric poetry in the Middle East. It was adapted from the widespread oral folk poetry of the Persians and Tadzhiks, in which it is termed dubaiti or tarane. In written literature, the rubai, contrasting with the syllabic meter of folk poetry, is in the meter of aruz (an Arabic system of versification); it appeared in this form in the ninth and tenth centuries in the works of such poets as Rudaki. From that time, the rubai was invariably used for lyric poetry in which philosophic reflections predominated.The rubai found its way from Persian literature into Arabic, Urdu, and many Turkic literatures. It reached its apogee as a genre in the mid-11th century but began yielding to the ghazal in the second half of the 12th century. The rubai consists of four hemistiches or two bayts, with a rhyme scheme of aaba and occasionally aaaa.http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/RubaiBe happy for this moment. This moment is your life. Omar Khayyam A hair divides what is false and true. Omar Khayyam(The Rubaiyat - XLIX, 1120) Strange - is it not? - that of the myriads who Before us passed the door of Darkness through, Not one returns to tell us of the road Which to discover we must travel too. Omar Khayyam(The Rubaiyat - LXIV, 1120) Heav'n but the Vision of fulfill'd Desire,And Hell the Shadow from a Soul on fire,Cast on the Darkness into which Ourselves,So late emerged from, shall so soon expire. Omar Khayyam(The Rubaiyat - LXVII, 1120) There was a door to which I found no key: There was the veil through which I might not see. Omar Khayyam(The Rubaiyat - XXXII, 1120) A book, a woman, and a flask of wine:The three make heaven for me; it may be thineIs some sour place of singing cold and bare,But then, I never said thy heaven was mine. Omar Khayyam(The Rubaiyat - XII, 1120) Myself when young did eagerly frequent doctor and saint, and heard great argument about it and about: but evermore came out by the same door as in I went. Omar Khayyam(The Rubaiyat - XXVII, 1120) By the help of God and with His precious assistance, I say that Algebra is a scientific art. The objects with which it deals are absolute numbers and measurable quantities which, though themselves unknown, are related to "things" which are known, whereby the determination of the unknown quantities is possible. Omar Khayyam(Treatise on Demonstration of Problems of Algebra, 1070) Ah make the most of what yet we may spend, Before we too into dust descend. Omar Khayyam(The Rubaiyat - XXIV, 1120) Each Morn a thousand Roses brings, you say;Yes, but where leaves the Rose of Yesterday? Omar Khayyam(The Rubaiyat - IX, 1120) I myself am Heaven and Hell. Omar Khayyam (The Rubaiyat - LXVI, 1120) Waste not your Hour, nor in the vain pursuitOf This and That endeavour and dispute;Better be jocund with the fruitful GrapeThan sadden after none, or bitter, Fruit. Omar Khayyam(The Rubaiyat - LIV, 1120) Look not above, there is no answer there;Pray not, for no one listens to your prayer;Near is as near to God as any Far,And Here is just the same deceit as There. And do you think that unto such as you;A maggot-minded, starved, fanatic crew:God gave the secret, and denied it me?--Well, well, what matters it! Believe that, too. "Did God set grapes a-growing, do you think,And at the same time make it sin to drink?Give thanks to Him who foreordained it thus -Surely He loves to hear the glasses clink!" Omar Khayyam(The Rubaiyat, 1120) The thoughtful Soul to Solitude retires. Omar Khayyam(The Rubaiyat - IV, 1120) We are no other than a moving rowOf Magic Shadow-shapes that come and go Omar Khayyam (The Rubaiyat - LXVIII, 1120) Ah, my Belov'ed fill the Cup that clearsToday Past Regrets and Future Fears:Tomorrow! - Why, Tomorrow I may beMyself with Yesterday's Sev'n Thousand Years. Omar Khayyam(The Rubaiyat - XXI, 1120) I sent my Soul through the Invisible,Some letter of that After-life to spell:And by and by my Soul return'd to me,And answer'd "I Myself am Heav'n and Hell:" Omar Khayyam(The Rubaiyat - LXVI, 1120) Drink! for you know not whence you came nor why: drink! for you know not why you go, nor where. Omar Khayyam(The Rubaiyat - LXXIV, 1120) The Wine of Life keeps oozing drop by drop,The Leaves of Life keep falling one by one. Omar Khayyam(The Rubaiyat - VIII, 1120) Yesterday This Day's Madness did prepare;Tomorrow's Silence, Triumph, or Despair:Drink! for you know not whence you came, nor why:Drink! for you know not why you go, nor where. Omar Khayyam(The Rubaiyat - LXXIV, 1120) When I want to understand what is happening today or try to decide what will happen tomorrow, I look back. Omar Khayyam Oh, threats of Hell and Hopes of Paradise!One thing at least is certain - This Life flies;One thing is certain and the rest is Lies;The Flower that once has blown for ever dies. Omar Khayyam(The Rubaiyat - LXIII, 1120) Living Life Tomorrow's fate, though thou be wise, Thou canst not tell nor yet surmise; Pass, therefore, not today in vain, For it will never come again. Omar Khayyam
Image was taken from: http://www.google.com/imgres?start=47&num=10&um=1&hl=en&rlz=1G1GGLQ_ENPH325&biw=1280&bih=633&tbm=isch&tbnid=Ppz-nn8EsaYPoM:&imgrefurl=http://www.indigenouspeople.net/arabiclit/indexold.html&docid=t8WXT7SFkYgEhM&imgurl=http://www.krystalkoncepts.co.uk/assalaam/images/assalaam.jpg&w=503&h=350&ei=ILUGT5zpH8iTiQeKrOWvCQ&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=461&vpy=149&dur=37&hovh=187&hovw=269&tx=113&ty=96&sig=105304052432597647049&sqi=2&page=3&tbnh=109&tbnw=156&ndsp=22&ved=1t:429,r:9,s:47
The Quran (English pronunciation: /kɒˈrɑːn/ kor-ahn; Arabic: القرآن al-qurʾān, IPA: [qurˈʔaːn],[variations] literally meaning "the recitation"), also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God (Arabic: الله, Allah). It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language. The Quran is divided into 114 suras of unequal length which are classified either as Meccan or Medinan depending upon their place and time of revelation. Muslims believe the Quran to be verbally revealed through angel Jibrīl (Gabriel) from God to Muhammad gradually over a period of approximately 23 years beginning in 610 CE, when Muhammad was 40, and concluding in 632 CE, the year of his death. Shortly after Muhammad's death the Quran was compiled into a single book by order of the first Caliph Abu Bakr and at the suggestion of his future successor Umar. Hafsa, Muhammad's widow and Umar's daughter, was entrusted with that Quranic text after the second Caliph Umar died. When the third Caliph Uthman began noticing slight differences in Arabic dialect, he sought Hafsa's permission to use her text to be set as the standard dialect, the Quraish dialect now known as Fus'ha (Modern Standard Arabic). Before returning the text to Hafsa, Uthman made several thousand copies of Abu Bakr's redaction and, to standardize the text, invalidated all other versions of the Quran. This process of formalization is known as the "Uthmanicrecension". The present form of the Quran text is accepted by most scholars as the original version compiled by Abu Bakr.Muslims regard the Quran as the main miracle of Muhammad, the proof of his prophethood] and the culmination of a series of divine messages that started with the messages revealed to Adam, regarded in Islam as the first prophet, and continued with the Suhuf Ibrahim (Scrolls of Abraham),[ the Tawrat (Torah or Pentateuch) of Moses, the Zabur (Tehillim or Book of Psalms) of David, and the Injil (Gospel) of Jesus.[20][21][22] The Quran assumes familiarity with major narratives recounted in Jewish and Christian scriptures, summarizing some, dwelling at length on others and in some cases presenting alternative accounts and interpretations of events. The Quran describes itself as a book of guidance, sometimes offering detailed accounts of specific historical events, and often emphasizing the moral significance of an event over its narrative sequence.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QuranImage taken from:http://www.google.com/imgres?q=koran&hl=en&biw=1280&bih=633&gbv=2&tbm=isch&tbnid=kq1TIoODVygUJM:&imgrefurl=http://www.e-booksdirectory.com/details.php%3Febook%3D3718&docid=BPYe-tyelj9RrM&imgurl=http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61bOaETKszL.jpg&w=409&h=500&ei=xbgGT4vwBI6aiQeS0qnDCQ&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=336&vpy=122&dur=462&hovh=248&hovw=203&tx=122&ty=81&sig=105304052432597647049&page=2&tbnh=125&tbnw=102&start=21&ndsp=21&ved=1t:429,r:1,s:21
Image taken from:http://www.google.com/imgres?q=hadith&hl=en&biw=1280&bih=633&gbv=2&tbm=isch&tbnid=i9962qTx4HO0hM:&imgrefurl=http://www.bjsallahwalay.com/islam/hadiyth/namaz-e-juma-ki-fazilat-hadith/&docid=W0zn2-WhAU9ZeM&imgurl=http://bjsallahwalay.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/jumuah-ki-fazeelat.jpg&w=558&h=1024&ei=MOsHT4mPNK7jmAWrqZiYCg&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=997&vpy=92&dur=1148&hovh=304&hovw=166&tx=99&ty=155&sig=105304052432597647049&page=2&tbnh=123&tbnw=67&start=21&ndsp=22&ved=1t:429,r:13,s:21
PoetryThe QASIDA was developed by pre-Islamic Arabs and has endured in Arabic literary history up to the present. It consists of an elaborately structured ode of from 20 to 100 verses and maintains a single end rhyme through the entire piece. The poem opens with a short prelude, usually a love poem, to get the reader's attention. This is followed by an account of the poet's journey, with descriptions of his horse or camel and of desert scenes and events. The main theme, at the end, is a tribute to the poet's patron, his tribe, or even himself. After the coming of Islam, the qasida served as an instrument of praise to God, eulogies of Muhammad, and songs of commendation or lament for the saints. It was a type of poem that lent itself to displays of the poet's own knowledge. The GHAZELis a love lyric of from five to 12 verses that probably originated as an elaboration of the qasida's opening section. The content was religious, secular, or a combination of both. The QITAH is a literary form used for the less serious matters of everyday life. Its main function was for satire, jokes, word games, and codes. The MASNAVI originated in Persia, a country with its own ancient literary tradition. The term means "the doubled one," or rhyming couplet. The masnavi became very popular because it enabled the poet to tell a long story by stringing together thousands of verses. It was the closest approach to the epic poem that developed in Islamic literature. The Arabs rejected the epic as a form of fiction, which they felt was akin to falsehood. The ROBA’Ialso has its roots in pre-Islamic Persian poetic tradition. Its form is a quatrain (four-line verse) in which the first, second, and fourth lines rhyme. ProseThe MAQAMAH is the most typical expression of the Arabic spirit in rhymed prose. It was used to tell basically simple and entertaining stories in an extremely complicated style. Because the maqamah was frequently used to display the author's wit, learning, and eloquence, it often became so tangled in convoluted terminology and grammar that it was quite difficult to comprehend and therefore almost impossible to translate. Only in the late 19th century, under the influence of translations from the European languages, did its style take on a matter-of-fact manner that made it less artificial. http://www.library.cornell.edu/colldev/mideast/islamlit.htm
IbnQutayba, 'Uyun al-akhbar, Cairo, 1964, vol. 2, 185. Al-SeratIslam, the Qur'an and the Arabic Literature Elsayed M.H Omran Vol XIV No. 1 , Spring 1988 http://www.al-islam.org/al-serat/arabic.htm
The birth of Arabic prose as a literary form is attributed to the Persian secretarial class who served under the Abbasid caliphs (750-1256) in Baghdad. Ibn al-Muqaffa' (died 757) was a convert to Islam who translated classical Persian works into Arabic. He became famous as the author of Kalila and Dimna, a series of didactic fables in which two jackals offer moral and practical advice.al-JAHIZ (776-869) developed Arabic prose into a literary vehicle of precision and elegance. Born in Basrah, he was noted for his wit and became one of Baghdad's leading intellectuals during the early Abbasid period. The most famous of his 200 works were:Kitab al-Hayawan ("The Book of Animals"), an anthology of animal anecdotes.Kitab al-Bayan wa al-Tabyin ("The Book of Elucidation and Exposition"), ostensibly about rhetoric but also covering history and science.Kitab al-Bukhala’ ("The Book of Misers"), amusing but perceptive observations on psychology.ABU AL-FARAJ al-Isfahani (c 897-967), from Aleppo, wroteKitab al-Aghani("The Book of Songs"), in 24 volumes. A model of simplicity and clarity in its writing, the book gives a comprehensive picture of Arab culture and society, including songs and poems which were popular in Baghdad under the Caliph Harun al-Rashid. A vizir (government minister) of the time is said to have taken 30 camel-loads of books whenever he travelled - until he received a copy of the Book of Songs. He then felt able to dispense with all the other books.al-HAMADHANI (died 1008) is credited with inventing the genre known as maqamat("assemblies") - dramatic anecdotes narrated by a witty but unscrupulous rogue which poke fun at all levels of society. Elaborately written in rhyming prose, they exploit the unique capabilities of the Arabic language to the full. Out of 400 original maqamat, 52 survive.The trend towards linguistic virtuosity led, ultimately, to a triumph of form over content. al-HARIRI (c 1054-1122) took the maqamah to new heights (or extremes) in order to demonstrate his prowess with word-play and his seemingly inexhaustible vocabulary. In one work, he used only those letters of the alphabet which have no dots or do not join to the following letter in a word. Even so, for more than seven centuries, al-Hariri's maqamat were regarded as the greatest literary treasure of Arabic, after the Qur'an. According to some readers, wholesome moral values and subtle criticisms of the existing social order underlie al-Hariri's decorative language. http://www.al-bab.com/arab/literature/lit.htmImage from:Illustration from Kitab al-Aghani (Book of Songs), 1216-20, by Abu al-Faraj al-Isfahani, a collection of songs by famous musicians and Arab poets.
Hamasa (hämä'sä, humä'su) ][Arab.,=valor], one of the great anthologies of Arabic literature. It was gathered together in the 9th cent. By Abu Tammam when he was snowbound in Hamadan, where he had access to an excellent library. There are 10 books of poems, classified by subject. Some of them are selections from long poems. This is one of the treasuries of early Arabic poetry, and the poems are of exceptional beauty. A later anthology by the same name was compiled by the poet al-Buhturi (c.820–897). The term has been used in modern times to mean “heroic epic.”
THE Thousand and One Nights (Alf LaylahwaLaylah) is the only Arabic work that has become truly popular in the West. For centuries it was frowned upon by educated Arabs for its inelegant style and mixing of the classical and vernacular languages.The first written compilation of the stories was made in Iraq in the 10th century by al-Jahshiyari who added tales from local storytellers to an old Persian work, HazarAfsana("thousand tales"), which in turn contained some stories of Indian origin. The "frame" story, in which Sharazad saves herself from execution at the hands of King Shahrayar with her endless supply of tales was borrowed from the Persian Afsana but probably originated in India. A similar device, which may also come unltimately from India, is found in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales and Boccaccio's Decameron.The first Western translation was made in the early 18th century by Antoine Galland. His elegant French, coupled with some liberal editing, masked the flaws in the original and it became a huge success. He also added, from oral sources, several of the stories which later became most famous - including Ali Baba, Sindbad, and Aladdin.The Nights had a wide influence on European literary taste during the 18th and 19th centuries, when orientalism was fashionable. Examples include Samuel Johnson’s Rasselasand Voltaire’s Zadiq, as well as the poetic works of Byron and Wordsworth.The three best-known translations in English are by Edward Lane (incomplete, but accurate and with a detailed commentary), John Payne (probably the best, but without a commentary) and Sir Richard Burton (which tries to reproduce the oriental flavour of the original).Although sometimes regarded as children's stories, the sexual content makes some of them unsuitable - though bowdlerised versions are available. Modern Arabic versions have also been amended to meet the stylistic demands of critics. In 1850 the American author, Edgar Allen Poe, wrote The Thousand and Second Tale of Scheherazade,a satirical conclusion to the story, in which Sharazad is finally executed. It was not well-received by critics by David Tomlinson, United States Naval Academy. http://www.al-bab.com/arab/literature/nights.htmThe Tale of One Thousand and One Nights - http://www.library.cornell.edu/colldev/mideast/arabnit.htmImage from:http://www.google.com/imgres?q=arabian+nights&start=22&num=10&hl=en&gbv=2&biw=1280&bih=633&tbm=isch&tbnid=0qIWNU7tzApHcM:&imgrefurl=http://www.worldgallery.co.uk/art-print/Arabian-Nights-I-97357.html&docid=P8jN-mZwh2gSKM&imgurl=http://images.worldgallery.co.uk/i/prints/rw/lg/9/7/John-Douglas-Arabian-Nights-I-97357.jpg&w=400&h=400&ei=gwIIT4GlK4q8rAeZq6jwDw&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=524&sig=105304052432597647049&sqi=2&page=2&tbnh=136&tbnw=133&ndsp=22&ved=1t:429,r:4,s:22&tx=129&ty=60
