The Hafez Poems of Gertrude Bell (Classics of Persian Literature) [Paperback]

Hafez (Author)

Book Description

Series: Classics of Persian Literature | Publication Date: January 1, 1995

Includes Bell's translation of Hafez, along with the original Persian (Farsi). Also included are Bell's extensive introduction on the life and poetry of Hafez and a preface by E. Denison Ross. As E.G. Browne has commented: "Bells translations are true poetry of a very high order and, with perhaps the single exception of FitzGerald's paraphrase of the Quatrains of Omar Khayyam, are probably the finest and most truly poetical renderings of any Persian poet ever produced in the English language."

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Miss Bells [translations] are true poetry of a very high order and, with perhaps the single exception of FitzGerald's paraphrase of the Quatrains of Omar Khayyam, are probably the finest and most truly poetical renderings of any Persian poet ever produced in the English language..." -- Edward G Browne. "No book has been so reverenced, no poet so celebrated, and no verse so cherished as Hafez's ghazals. Auguries from his divan have decided the fates of individuals and empires, rebels and heretics as well as the pious have died with lines by Hafez on their lips, and religious and philosophic arguments have been won by apt quotation of a hemistich. Hafez sang a rare blend of human and mystic love so balanced, proportioned, and contrived with artful ease that it is impossible to separate the one from the other; and rhetorical artifice is so delicately woven into the fabric of wisdom and mysticism that it imparts a freshness to ideas..." -- Wheeler M Thackston.

Language Notes

Text: English, Persian (translation)
Original Language: Persian

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: IBEX Publishers (January 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0936347392
• ISBN-13: 978-0936347394
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #371,431 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Hafiz of Shiraz was widely regarded as an infidel in his day. Today he is recognized in the East not only for the excellence of his poetry, but also as a Sufi illuminate. His major work, The Diwan, is found beside the Koran in the homes of the devout. In the West, Hafiz--a contemporary of Dante--is admired for his love-poetry; Goethe, among others, acknowledged his influence.