Emotional Intoxication

After an initial read, it’s obvious that Hafiz uses an interesting series of imagery and metaphors to craft his poem, “Ode 44”. Upon further examination, we see that he toys heavily with themes of love and sex, explaining them artistically through a medium of a very original, and well developed metaphor. In his poem “Ode 44”, Hafiz aims to illustrate that love- as well as words spoken with true love- is a wine, and the intimacy of sex which follows is the drunkneness achieved as a result of “drinking” just a little bit too much.  

Hafiz builds his narrative slowly, giving you the important bits of his metaphor little by little, as he describes the beauty he finds in his presences. Starting off, he gives his the initial building blocks of his artistic interpretation in line 3, “With tilted glass, and verses on her lips” and line 5, “Filled full of frolic to her wine red lips”. “Tilted glass” obviously referencing a wine glass, but also “verses on her lips” pointing to words, or phrases. Not only mere phrases, mind you, but verses. Excerpts of poetry or music. There is beauty in this choice of vocabulary, intending that the content of her words sends music through his mind and his heart. “Wine-red lips” then ties the two together, establishing the connection with wine and words, that being them both bestowed upon the lips. The first half of the metaphor is then finalized on line 12, where Hafiz explains he “drank whatever wine she poured for me”, after his lover calls for his attention in the middle of the night. She confides in him with whatever is burdening her, whether that be anger, fear, stress, or simply her overwhelming love for him, and he listens to her and accepts everything she is saying to him as if it were a fine wine. After engaging in excessive consumption of the wine that is the love shared between these two people, the narrator describes a sort of inebriation achieved as a result. On line 19, Hafiz explains his narrator and their partner as, “Drunkards we are by a divine decree”. Based on the seductive tone of the poem and connection to sexual behavior involved with nudity, it’s easy to assume that overconsumption of this wine has resulted in the intoxication of sexual desire. However this is no ordinary drunkenness, oh no. They’re not getting drunk off cheap liquor and 91% rubbing alcohol, they’re drinking fine wine. This is drunkenness to a divine decree. He’s pointing towards the kind of inebriation conjured not only by the simple the act of sex, but by something more meaningful, more spiritual, something more divine. An emotional intoxication only achievable through the consumption of the verses of love. 

One might say that this would be an anti religious way of viewing love and sex; through the medium of inebriation and substance abuse. And upon first glance I interpreted it this way as well, however I recognized some important things as I persisted dissecting the idea. As stated previously, the imagery of alcohol here takes the shape of fine wine, not hard spirits or foaming beers. Most religious texts which hold faith in Christ (referred to as Īsā in the Islamic faith) believe that regulated consumption of fine red wine is righteous and holy, and brings one closer to the spirit through the consumption of his holy blood, symbolized by such wine. Similarly, the depictions of sex here do not include adulatory or similar unholy sexual acts, and are instead meaningful and intimate, reflecting the love shared between two people. Any fair creator would smile upon this act of passion. 

That is, given I’m correct! The final stanza kind of threw me. Let me know if there’s anything I missed or might need further elaboration on.  I also think the rhyme scheme between “divine” and (fine)”wine” are cute, but they aren’t canon unless these phrases also rhyme in Farsi. It was worth mentioning in my opinion, but since this poem wasn’t translated by Hafiz himself in no way has right to act as evidence in my argument.

Hayden Namgostar