Great Works of Literature, Spring 2017 (hybrid)

Hafez complicating his apparent asceticism

In “Plant friendship’s tree” and “Thanks be to God”, Hafez shares his controversial praise of worldly pleasures. Hafez may be viewed as a Sufi, but his unconventional interests in wine and love say otherwise. In my opinion, I believe Sufis are self-disciplined and abide by strict rules. Based off my definition, I think that Hafez is complicating his apparent asceticism because he is seeking pleasures by indulging in wine and love. In “Thanks be to God”, Hafez writes “[wine] brings us drunkenness, and pride, and pleasure” (Line 5). Hafez is sharing his unorthodox views of seeking pleasures by embracing love and alcohol, but is also teaching others how to be content and satisfied.

One thought on “Hafez complicating his apparent asceticism”

  1. I agree with your points. I also think that Hafez might wrote what he was refrained to do in the poem to express his desire for worldly pleasure or to indirectly solve his appetite by writing his poems. He tried to live in asceticism but not hide his natural instinct unlike many other contemporary writers.

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