The Poetry of Nizami Ganjavi : Knowledge, Love, and Rhetoric

The work of Nizami Ganjavi, a classical poet of the twelfth century, is fueling new cultural debate in Iran in recent years. The dominant discourse encourages the reading of the texts in light of biographical or theological conventions and religious motives. These essays explore Nizami s influential role and his portrayal of issues related to love, women, and science, stressing his preoccupation with the art of speech as a major impetus behind his literary activity. Cover 1 Half-Title 2 Title 4 Copyright 5 Dedication 6 Contents 8 Preface 10 A Note on Transliteration 11 Introduction: Nizami Ganjavi and His Poetry 12 Chapter 1 A Comparison of Nizami's Layli and Majnun and Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet 25 Chapter 2 Layla Grows Up: Nizami's Layla and Majnun "in the Turkish Manner" 38 Chapter 3 Nizami's Unlikely Heroines: A Study of the Characterizations of Women in Classical Persian Literature 59 Chapter4 Majnun's Image as a Serpent 90 Chapter 5 The Historian and the Poet: Ravandi, Nizami, and the Rhetoric of History 103 Chapter 6 Occult Sciences in The Iskandarnameh of Nizami 135 Chapter 7 Nizami's Poetry Versus Scientific Knowledge: The Case of the Pomegranate 146 Chapter 8 Music in Khusraw Va Shirin 168 Chapter 9 The Story of the Ascension (Mi'raj) in Nizami's Work 184 Chapter 10 International Recognition of Nizami's Work: A Bibliography 194 Index 210 Front Matter....Pages i-x Introduction: Nizami Ganjavi and His Poetry....Pages 1-13 A Comparison of Nizami’s Layli and Majnun and Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet....Pages 15-27 Layla Grows Up: Nizami’s Layla and Majnun “in The Turkish Manner”....Pages 29-49 Nizami’s Unlikely Heroines: A Study of the Characterizations of Women in Classical Persian Literature....Pages 51-81 Majnun’s Image as a Serpent....Pages 83-95 The Historian and the Poet: Rāvandī, Nizami, and the Rhetoric of History....Pages 97-128 Occult Sciences in The Iskandarnameh of Nizami....Pages 129-139 Nizami’s Poetry Versus Scientific Knowledge: The Case of the Pomegranate....Pages 141-162 Music in Khusraw Va Shirin....Pages 163-178 The Story of the Ascension (Mi’raj) in Nizami’s Work....Pages 179-188 International Recognition of Nizami’s Work: A Bibliography....Pages 189-204 Back Matter....Pages 205-210