The Shah and the beggar: on the poetic dispute between Hafiz and Shah Ni‘matullah Vali

Abstract

The article comprises an analysis of the famous ghazal by the 14th cent. Iranian poet Shams al-Din Hafiz. Traditionally it has been considered as a response to a poem by his late contemporary Shah Ni‘matullah Vali. This poetic dialogue is rather remarkable since it reveals both the literary and the personal polemics. The juxtaposing of the two texts opens in their research further hermeneutic perspectives. The ideal images of the ghazals’ lyrical characters can be projected onto the personalities of the two poets and their relationships, which provides the poem by Hafiz with a new semantic dimension.The authors declares that there is no conflict of interest.