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A review by yangyvonne
The Masnavi: Book One by Rumi
2.0
*Read for class
Rumi began his career as a scholar and teacher. At some point, he met a man who served as his muse and inspired him to write the 26,000 (!) verses that comprise the Masnavi. The book is sometimes called the "Qur'an in Persian" - this poem tells of the message of divine love and unity through stories and analogy. Much of the verses tell stories of familiar biblical figures like Joseph and Moses, while others sing praises of his muse, Shams.
26,000 verses to get the SAME BASIC MESSAGE across? This pushed my tolerance of poetry (low to begin with) beyond my limits. Rambling story after story with no end in sight - all saying the same thing. And really, I began to see Shams as a Rasputin figure rather than a good influence on Rumi.
Rumi began his career as a scholar and teacher. At some point, he met a man who served as his muse and inspired him to write the 26,000 (!) verses that comprise the Masnavi. The book is sometimes called the "Qur'an in Persian" - this poem tells of the message of divine love and unity through stories and analogy. Much of the verses tell stories of familiar biblical figures like Joseph and Moses, while others sing praises of his muse, Shams.
26,000 verses to get the SAME BASIC MESSAGE across? This pushed my tolerance of poetry (low to begin with) beyond my limits. Rambling story after story with no end in sight - all saying the same thing. And really, I began to see Shams as a Rasputin figure rather than a good influence on Rumi.