NIZAMI ON MEN AND THEIR DESIRES
Interpretation of English translations by Michael Novakhov
Dedicated to my dear friends
Eldarchik Eldarov and Yurochka Rubashenko:
I have lost you, you slipped away through my fingers.
The pain of this loss is even more unbearable 54 years later.
I love you even more now, having realized
What I have lost: The heart of my life.
The mystery set up by men and Gods
Runs deep.
Our souls communicate.
That’s how I feel.
“Free is a man who has no desires.”
Your body is a silver cup I hold,
Your wine I thirst, your lovely wine I drink
Your beauty is Godly,
Your beauty is God
He looks at you, his creation,
And falls in love with you, through Majnun eyes
My Soul is trapped within my body
But it runs free with you.
These traps are gold and laws,
But Love burns wild, it’s chainless
Love is just a spell,
Even as long as a thousand years,
Just one breadth
Out of Eternity.
Lover is filled
By his beloved.
Just scratch them a little,
And there they show
I am a silent bird in a cage,
My wings are broken.
You drove me crazy,
Sleepless, mad,
In loss of self, and mind,
And Reason.
Your Love
Is my Asylum:
I am free there,
Free from my pride
The secret road
I walk to you,
To your house I come,
And kiss your door
O fire of my soul,
Do not burn me,
As I embrace you
And hold you in my arms.
–
#Gay themes in the #Nizami writings
Nizami Ganjavi is best known for his romantic epics—collectively called the Khamsa (Quintet)—his relationship with “gay themes” is typically viewed through the lens of classical
#Persian literary traditions rather than modern identity.While the 12th-century Persian poetIn classical Persian poetry, the concept of the “beloved” often blurred gender lines or explicitly featured male-to-male desire as a standard aesthetic and spiritual trope.
Key Contextual Themes
The Genderless “Beloved”: In the Persian language, pronouns are gender-neutral. This allows the “beloved” in Nizami’s poetry to be interpreted as either male or female. In a Sufi (mystical) context, this ambiguity often symbolizes the soul’s yearning for the Divine.
), the language used to describe beauty often draws from these same-sex poetic traditions.Homoerotic Traditions: Nizami wrote during a period where male homoeroticism was a prominent theme in Persian lyrics. While his major works focus on heterosexual romances (likeLayla and MajnunorKhosrow and Shirat
Layla and Majnun: While this is a story of heterosexual love, scholars often analyze the character of Majnun as a figure who transcends social norms. His “madness” and total devotion are sometimes compared to the “transgressive” nature of queer love in later literary critiques.
Modern Reinterpretations: Today, the Nizami Ganjavi Library at Oxford frequently hosts exhibitions on LGBTQ+ history and the “Queer Armenian Library,” bridging the poet’s legacy with contemporary queer discourse.
University of Oxford +4If you’re interested in exploring this further, I can look into:
.Specific Sufi interpretations of the “beloved” in theKhamsa
How later poets like Hafiz or Sa’di (who were more explicit about male-to-male love) were influenced by Nizami.
The history of the Queer Armenian Library and its connection to the Nizami Ganjavi Library.
Encyclopædia Iranica +4