Istanbul University Faculty of Literature held a ceremony to commemorate the famous poet Hafez Shirazi on Monday.
The ceremony was commissioned jointly by the faculty’s Persian Literature Department and Cultural Section of Iran’s consulate in Istanbul and saw the presence of interested students among others, MNA reported.
A number of the faculty teaching staff, and Javad Aminimanesh, head of cultural affairs at the consulate also attended the ceremony.
A documentary featuring Hafez’s life and works was screened. The keynote speaker Dr. Hassanli, lecturer at Shiraz University and visiting professor of the ministry of science and research at the University of Istanbul spoke on, ‘Hafez and the Meaning of Life.’
Hassanli addressed Hafez’s social messages, and emphasizing upon the zeitgeist of his lifetime, highlighted his keenness of the vicissitudes of life and his general recommendations on happiness and tolerance. He said that Hafez’s balanced and moderate view of the world and afterworld contributed to his popularity with men and women of his time. Giving examples of his verse, he argued “elements of motifs of happiness and joviality made his poetry widely read by the public.”
Impact
Serpil Koc Konuksever, PhD student and faculty teacher assistant spoke on Hafez’s place in Persian and world literature and its significant impact on Turkish literature. She illustrated the case with lines from Divan of Emiri (a poet of Suleiman the Magnificent era) which was obviously under the influence of Hafez.
Dr. Guzelyuz, director of the Persian Literature department, talked about Hafez’s spiritual, social and political thought and “his meticulous rendering of social evils of his time in lines of verse.” He also explained some of the key notions of the Divan (collection of poems) of Hafez.
Born in Shiraz, Khwaja Shams-al-Din Muhammad Hafez-e Shirazi, known by his pen name Hafez (1325–1389) was a Persian poet. His collection of works are regarded as a pinnacle of Persian literature and are to be found in the homes of most people in Iran, who learn his poems by heart and use them as proverbs and sayings to this day.
Themes of his ghazals (a poetic form) are the beloved, faith, and exposing hypocrisy. His influence on the lives of Farsi speakers can be found in the frequent use of his poems in Persian traditional music, visual art, and Persian calligraphy. His mausoleum in Shiraz, Iran, is flocked by visitors daily. Adaptations, imitations and translations of Hafez’s poems exist in all major languages.
