Khaqani, Poet-Philosopher of Medieval Persia

Khaqani Shirvani (1121/22--1199) is perhaps one of the most enigmatic poets and prose-writers in the history of Persian literature. It is often argued that no other twelfth-century poet or writer reflected more the social and cultural context of the Persian-speaking world in the written form than Khaqani. In addition to this, he was without doubt a pioneer in many facets of Persian poetry, be it in rhetoric, compound metaphor or prosody, and until now this has made his writings rather complex for modern readers to appreciate. In this book, Alireza Korangy offers the first English-language engagement with Khaqani's prose work, letters and philosophy, looking at how his ideas influenced his poetry, and how the context influenced both these forms of literary output. By approaching one of the more complicated bodies of work in the history of Persian literature through Khaqani's prose, Korangy allows for an understanding of both poetics and linguistics, as well as an analysis of the historical and social trends of Khaqani's life and times.