66965 - Persian 1

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course, students will have achieved a first level of competence in the Neo-Persian language and literature, and will be able to express effectively, both orally and in writing, what they have learnt, also contextualising it with reference to the relevant bibliography.

Course contents

IMPORTANT NOTE

A. Students who have chosen one of the following examinations: Persian 1 (12 cfu, ARCO), Persian Language and Literature 1 (12 cfu, MA), Persian Language and Culture (10 cfu, SVIC) are required to take, in addition to ‘Persian Literature 1’, Persian Language and Linguistics Exercises 1 (two weekly meetings, Dr Negar Abbasi). The text-book that will be used in class: N. Norozi e N. Abbasi Boroujeni, Lezioni di Persiano per Principianti. Seconda edizione, Centro Essad Bey – Amazon IP, Seattle, 2025.

PLEASE NOTE: Students interested in a Persian thesis and those interested in pursuing further study of the language are strongly encouraged to also take the course ‘Persian Language and Linguistics 1’, taught in the second semester by Prof. Nahid Norozi (see link: https://www.unibo.it/sitoweb/nahid.norozi2/didattica/programma/2025/431533).

B. INVECTIVELY, students who have chosen the Persian Language and Linguistics 1A (6 cfu, Master's degree) are required to take ONLY the first part of Persian Literature 1 (until mid-November), in addition to the first part of Persian Language and Linguistics 1 (i.e. only from the end of September to December, Prof. Negar Abbasi).

 

INTRODUCTION

Classical Persian literature takes place between the 11th and 14th centuries, providing genres and forms (especially in poetry), themes and motifs that will largely influence not only writers of Iranian origin but also those of neighboring literatures, especially Ottoman Turkic and Hindustani (in Urdu language). Poets writing in Persian are traceable even in Ottoman-era Bosnia, from which, moreover, came the major commentator of Hāfez (or Hafis), the great Persian poet who-translated into German in the early 1800s-inspired Goethe's West-Oestlicher Divan. In medieval Persian poetry one finds themes such as the “journey of the soul” to the afterlife, which fuels a vast cycle of Islamic “divine comedies,” or such as that of love for a splendid “friend” with an ambiguous physiognomy, in whom one is sometimes given to see a symbol of the absolute, of the divine. Some genres, such as the novel in verse have conspicuous parallels in coeval European literature, sometimes even some indirect influence is assumed (e.g., between the 11th-century Vis and Rāmin of Gorgāni and the Tristan cycle). In short, one finds themes that have an obvious European pendant in medieval Romance and Germanic literatures. Numerous are the mystical poets, investigating the forms of spiritual initiation, as in the case of 'Attar or Rumi; but one also finds poets expressing a worldly, nonconformist spirit, often veined with a corrosive skepticism, a radical philosophy of “carpe diem,” as occurs in the case of the quatrains of the celebrated and multi-translated 'Omar Khayyām. The study of this literature, particularly its poetic expressions, can open up new and at the same time (partially) familiar horizons, which make us realize how the idea of a West strictly delimited by its Greco-Roman-Christian matrix is perhaps in need of a profound re-examination.

Contemporary literature favours the prose novel, the short story and poetry that is less bound by metrical conventions and traditional themes, focusing primarily on social, political and identity-related issues. Authors explore themes such as modernisation, women’s emancipation, exile, the relationship between power and freedom of expression, and that between tradition and innovation. Whilst innovating in terms of language and perspectives, many authors maintain a dialogue with the classical heritage, drawing on its imagery, cultural references and symbolism, thereby creating a bridge between the past and the present.

COURSE SYLLABUS

Following an introductory overview of the Iranian world, the course aims to provide a comprehensive overview of Persian literature from the Middle Ages to the present day, exploring the overarching theme of love across various genres, from narrative to lyric texts.

The theme of love in Persian literature takes on various facets in different contexts: earthly love, courtly love, spiritual-mystical love, homoeroticism, love of one’s country, and so on. Typically, lovers behave in an unconventional manner, at times deliberately provocative or sacrilegious. Through the examination of selected passages, drawn from various works—mostly classical but also modern and contemporary—we shall study the variety of amorous situations described or narrated in: human and non-human couples, heterosexual and homoerotic couples, purely romantic stories and stories with a clear mystical and allegorical backdrop, realistic stories and stories with a markedly symbolic tone (featuring characters such as Flame and Moth, Rose and Nightingale, Mallet and Polo Ball), as well as conceptual or abstract pairs (Beauty and Heart, or Heart and Soul). We will also explore the various styles, forms, motifs and their respective developments; as well as certain subgenres linked to lyric poetry and the novel, such as love letters and amorous contests, etc. We will examine the degrees of female subjectivity and any aspects of misogyny and/or gynophobia that can be read between the lines in the texts under consideration.

Through the study of the works covered, particular attention will be paid to identifying mythological, chivalric, regal and heroic aspects and elements associated with the culture of pre-Islamic Persia.

The course will include the presentation of a selection of works relating to the topic under discussion and the reading of significant passages by Persian authors of the classical period, including: Gorgāni (11th century), Attār (12th century), Mahsati Ganjavi (12th century), ‘Omar Khayyām (12th century), Nezāmi (12th–13th centuries), Rumi (13th century), Khwāju Kermāni (14th century), Hāfez (14th century), with some forays into the work of contemporary poets, including Sohrāb Sepehri (d. 1980), Ahmad Shāmlu (d. 2000) and Simin Behbahāni (d. 2014).

The course also includes in-depth seminars or study days, as well as presentations of literary works, which may also be given by students, particularly of contemporary works to be agreed with the lecturer.

 

Readings/Bibliography

1. MONOGRAPHIES

Extensive reading of ONE of the following monographs.

- Carlo Saccone, Viaggi e visioni di re sufi e profeti. Storia tematica della letteratura persiana, vol. I, Luni, Trento-Milano 1999

- Carlo Saccone, Il maestro sufi e la bella cristiana. Poetica della perversione nella Persia medievale. Storia tematica della letteratura persiana, vol.II, Carocci, Roma 2005

- Carlo Saccone, Il re dei belli, il re del mondo. Teologia del potere e della bellezza nella Persia medievale. Storia tematica della letteratura persiana, vol. III, Aracne, Roma 2014

- Johann Christoph Buergel, "La parola è nave, il significato un mare. Saggi sull'amore e il viaggio nella poesia persiana medievale", a cura di C. Saccone, Carocci, Roma 2005

- Angelo Michele Piemontese, Storia della letteratura persiana, 2 voll., Fratelli Fabbri, Milano1970

- Alessandro Bausani, La letteratura neopersiana, in Pagliaro A. - Bausani A, La letteratura persiana, Sansoni-Accademia, Firenze-Milano 1968

- Nahid Norozi, Esordi del romanzo persiano. Dal Vis e Rāmin di Gorgāni (XI sec.) al ciclo di Tristano, con una premessa di F. Benozzo, Collana "Il cavaliere del leone", diretta da Andrea Fassò, Edizioni dell'Orso, Alessandria, 2022

- Johannes Thomas Pieter De Bruijn, Persian sufi poetry, Curzon Press, Richmond 1997

- Annemarie Schimmel, Stern und Blume. Die Bilderwelt der persischen Poesie, Otto Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 1984

- Jan. Rypka, A History of Iranian Literature, Reidel Publishing Company, Doordrecht 1968

 

2. TEXTS IN TRANSLATION.

Accurate reading of TWO texts in translation, chosen at will from the following classics and contemporary texts. N.B.: ONLY one text for students who have to take examinations under different names from Persian Literature 1 (i.e. Persian 1/Language and Persian Literature 1/Language and Culture).

Please note: NON-FREQUENCING students are required to bring an additional translation text to the examination.

A. classical works (in Italian translation)

- Farid ad-din ‘Attār, Il verbo degli uccelli (Mantiq al-Tayr), a cura di C. Saccone, Centro Essad Bey-CreateSpace IPP, Charleston 2016 (libro distribuito da Amazon)

- Gorgāni, Dieci lettere di Vis a Rāmin sulla crudeltà, a cura di N. Norozi, Carocci, Roma 2022

- Nezami, Leylà e Majnun, a cura di G. Calasso, Adelphi, Milano 1985

- Nezāmi, Le sette principesse, a cura di A. Bausani, BUR-Rizzoli, Milano 1982

- Nezāmi, Khosrow e Shirin, a cura di D. Meneghini, Ariele, Milano 2017

- Rumi, Poesie mistiche, a cura di A. Bausani, BUR-Rizzoli, Milano 1990

- ‘Omar Khayyām, Quartine, a cura di A. Bausani, Einaudi, Torino 1956 (ristampa recente, oppure in ed. Newton Compton, a cura di F. Gabrieli, Roma 1973)

- Sa‘di, L’argento di un povero cuore. 101 ghazal di Sa‘di Shirāzi, a cura di S. Manoukian, Ist. Cult. Della Rep. Isl. d'Iran, Roma 1991

- Khwāju di Kerman, Homāy e Homāyun. Un romanzo d'amore e avventura dalla Persia medievale, a cura di N. Norozi, Mimesis, Milano 2016

- Kay Kā’us ibn Iskandar, Il libro dei consigli, a cura di R. Zipoli, Adelphi, Milano 1981

- ‘Obeyd Zākāni, Dissertazione letifica, a cura di G.M. D'Erme, Carocci, Roma 2005

- Ahmad Ghazali, Delle occasioni amorose, a cura di C. Saccone, Carocci, Roma 2007

- Mahsati Ganjavi, La luna e le perle, a cura di R. Bargigli e D. Meneghini, Ariele Ed., Milano 1999

- Nasimi di Shirvan, Nel tuo volto è scritta la Parola di Dio. Il canzoniere persiano del poeta-martire dell’Hurufismo, Centro Essad Bey-Amazon, Seattle 2020

- Sarmad di Kashan, Dio ama la bellezza del mio peccato, a cura di C. Saccone, Centro Essad Bey-Amazon IP, Seattle 2022

- ‘Ārefi di Herat, Il Libro dell'Estasi (Hāl-Nāmé): Il sufismo o l'arte di giocare a polo, Centro Essad Bey-Amazon, Seattle 2026

B. Contemporary works

- Sharnush Pārsipur, Donne senza uomini, a cura di A. Vanzan, AIEP, San Marino 2000

- Sādeq Chubak, Pietra paziente, a cura di G. Longhi, introduzione di A. Dehbashi, Associazione internazionale di studi sul Mediterraneo e l'Oriente, 2021

- N. Norozi, “La mia spada e la poesia”. Versi di lotta e d’amore nella poetessa persiana Simin Behbahāni (poesie tradotte e commentate con gli originali in appendice, talora recitate in Qcode), WriteUp Books (“Ferdows. Collana di Studi iranici e islamici”), Roma 2023

- Forugh Farrokhzād, Io parlo dai confini della notte. Tutte le poesie: Testo persiano a fronte, a cura di D. Ingenito, Bompiani 2023

- Sohrāb Sepehri, Sino al fiore del nulla. 99 poesie (con testi a fronte), a cura di N. Norozi, Centro Essad Bey, (libro - Edizioni CreateSpace IPP), 2016

- Nahid Norozi, Il cavallo selvaggio dell’ira. Introduzione all’opera di Ahmad Shāmlu, poeta ribelle del ‘900 persiano, (con ampia antologia) prefazione di Maurizio Pistoso, Centro Essad Bey (Collana "Kharabat"), Charleston 2017 (libro - Edizioni CreateSpace IPP)

 

Teaching methods

Lectures, seminars, listening to musical texts, possible lectures by invitation of specialists

Assessment methods

A student who attends at least 75% of the lectures is considered to be attending.

The test changes according to the course title:

A. The test, for students who have chosen the Persian Literature 1/Culture course, will be oral and will consist of two parts: 1. topics covered during the literature lessons; 2. in-depth study of two authors of the student's choice. See bibliography for both parts.

B. The test, for students who have chosen one of the following courses: Persian 1 (12 cfu, ARCO), Persian Language and Literature 1 (12 cfu, MA), Persian Language and Culture (10 cfu, SVIC), comprises two tests: 1. oral literary test for which see point A., but with only one chosen author (see bibliography); 2. linguistic test consisting of two parts: a written language part (grammar exercises, translation, verb conjugation) and an oral part (correct reading of simple sentences, basic conversation and self-presentation, learned during the course of Persian Language and Linguistics Exercises). The final mark will result from the arithmetic mean of the marks obtained in the two tests.

C. The test, for students who have chosen Persian Language and Literature 1 (6 cfu) is as in B., but with one author less to be studied in depth for the examination (see bibliography)

IMPORTANT NOTE

The use of artificial intelligence is not permitted during the exam.

 

The student's achievement of the ability to comment comprehensively on the selected texts, both linguistically and historically, and to express an organic view of the topics addressed in class with a good command of expression and specific language will be evaluated with marks of excellence.
A mnemonic knowledge of the subject, together with synthesis and analysis skills articulated in correct but not always appropriate language, will lead to fair grades.
Formative gaps and/or inappropriate language - albeit in the context of minimal knowledge of the examination material - will lead to grades that do not exceed sufficiency.
Formative gaps, inappropriate language, lack of orientation within the bibliographic materials offered during the course will be negatively graded.

Teaching tools

Books, handouts, audio-visual media, magazine websites and other useful materials.

 

Students with DSA or temporary or permanent disabilities: it is advisable to get in touch immediately with the University office responsible (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/it ) and with the lecturer, in order to seek together the most effective strategies for following the lessons and/or preparing for the exam. Any requests for adaptations must be made within 15 days of the date of the exam, by sending an email to the lecturer and entering the email address disabilita@unibo.it [mailto:disabilita@unibo.it] (in the case of a disabling condition) or dsa@unibo.it [mailto:dsa@unibo.it] (for students with DSA)."

Office hours

See the website of Nahid Norozi