For the Love of God!

“Like This” by the poet and Sufi mystic Rumi, is a sensual, heart touching, and an open poem that holds a beautiful and loving tone through its English translation. It clearly tells the loving relationship and admiration of the poet to their object of affection through varying literary devices most notably through allusions/ metaphor.

Allusions seen within the poem pertain mainly as a tool to compare the love felt towards two people with that of miracles performed by Jesus from curing a blind man to rising from the tomb. The use of religion in this aspect, from the translation, shows minimal input of the Islamic religion but more so of Christian references. I would be lying to say I am well read and informed about the Islamic religion but unfortunately I am not, which would be helpful in this case, but after reading the article “The Erasure of Islam from the poetry of Rumi” I was able to look online for other translations in English of the poem and saw how religion is actually heavily added to the poem when comparing each one from the other. One I found online was actually longer and had in almost every stanza a mention of some divine being or act to compare with love. But going of the poem assigned, I see the allusion of religion as a comparison of the nature of existence and human experience to that of Jesus resurrecting (coming to life) to even alluding to a possible one sided love of two biblical figure, (to note again I am not well versed in the Koran or even that well with the bible, I could be wrong with this second take). The poem also holds plenty of metaphors comparing the lover to many varying objects from the night sky, the moon, and the spirit/ soul but also, for the most part, comparing the love found within each other with that of miracles and religion.

The comparison of the resurrection of Jesus to that of the lovers kiss is a pretty solidifying in showcasing religion and the acceptance of Islamic spirituality as seen, “If anyone wonders how Jesus raised the dead, don’t try to explain the miracle. Kiss me on the lips. Like this. Like this.” (line 21-4) this is a sweet line that interlocks Islamic spirituality with that of love, and that attributes much of the openness and acceptance of spirituality to this love with ties to embracing all aspects of life, negative and positive , joyful or challenging, and overall the understanding of all experiences and richness that life has to offer. 

Alondra Garcia

The Sin of Wine

Ode 44 opens up to the image of a drowsy man who is visited by a “lover” and thus begins what appears to be an internal monologue, in which he debates his choices and how he will deal with its consequences. The first stanza begins with the introduction and description of a woman of unparalleled allure. This is most noticeable the metaphor between the woman and Narcissus, specifically the “Narcissus-eyes all shining for the fray.” From this simple line one, can see how the lady appears to have eyes capable of enrapturing the man’s soul, the same way that Narcissus became entrapped with his own reflection, and doomed to die as a result. Narcissus’ fate can also be an alagory for what happens to the man’s morals, as he sways from his principles since “he surely were a churl / Who refused wine poured out by such a girl, / A double traitor he to wine and love.” No longer does he abide by his morals, but now indulges in his sin. 

This notion is further reinforced by the description of “filled full of frolic … her wine-red lips,” which underscores the previous quote in which he would be churl if he were to deny any wine he were to be offered. By comparing the lover’s lips to the distinct red coloring of wine, readers are shown not only the eye, but also the lips serve as a source of temptation for the man. Those same lips call for him to enjoy them, just as wine itself calls for the man’s adoration, for it he were to reject such fine things, then he would not be a man but rather a “double traitor.” The dinstinct color of wine is no longer just a color, but rather it now embodies the idea sloth.

The man still attempts to keep himself in check, however as the ode progresses, one sees the man seek for an excuse for himself. It is still quite ironic how he calls himself a puritan, yet still seeks for moral redemption by noting that “drunkards we are by a divine decree … foredoomed to drink and foreordained forgiven.” This seems to represent love as a rejection of Islamic spirituality, since he forgoes his moral for momentary pleasure which contradicts what spirituality stands for.

Isaac Ruiz

Inescapable Sin

In Ode 44, by Hafez, figurative language is used a few times, mainly in the first stanza,”Narcissus-eyes all shining for the fray/Filled full of frolic to her wine-red lips, “Warm as a dewy rose”, and the second stanza “Wine of the tavern, or vintage it might be/Of Heaven’s own vine” to make the reader understand how Hafez is trapped within lust and addiction, which is first thought to be romantic love, and makes Hafez a hostage to those sins in where he must use figurative language as a subliminal message which showcases things of interest like the wine, lust, lips, warmth, and Heaven.

When Hafez mentions “Narcissus-eyes”, I get an immediate definition for what Hafez means. Narcissus is apart of the Greek mythology in where he falls in love with his own reflection, but that isn’t what is meant in the poem. Narcissus is used mainly as a symbol of lust or love, this ties in with the end stanza where Hafez exclaims about himself in where he has promised for penitence, which basically means to feel bad for the sins that they have done. He ridicules himself in saying that since he is often surrounded by wine and women, that he can’t keep his promise of penitence, meaning that Hafez has fallen into lust and addiction. The part about being filled with Frolic, is personification, in descriptive ways it makes sense but in literal terms it doesn’t, Hafez uses “filled with Frolic” to emphasize excitement, mainly, from what I presume, from lust. Due to wine being an addiction, it also makes sense why Hafez would describe the woman’s lips as “wine-red”. Hafez creates a world in which everything around him, is out to keep him in, like he is trapped. He knows that he shouldn’t be lusting over women or constantly drink wine yet, even in looking at a woman, he can’t help but see his downfalls.

From one downfall to the other, Hafez remarks the woman’s lips as “Warm as a dewy rose” meaning not all traits of a dewy rose will transfer over due to being a simile. Personally, I am glad he made it a simile as it would be uncomfortable to make it a metaphor. A dewy rose refers to a rose in the morning, like how grass is wet from the dew, a rose can also be the same, but Hafez doesn’t mean a dewy rose in this way, rather he means the warmth of the rose from the sun. It means to introduce a nice warmth after being cold, like before the sun rises. The attribute from the vehicle was very easy to know as it was told directly to us, but to visualize what it truly meant was poetry in itself.

Another fun quote to visualize is the quote on “Heaven’s own vine”, which is a metonymy and a metaphor. The tavern is being thought of as a vine coming down from the heavens. The reason this is a metonymy is because Heaven, in my mind, is picture as a place above the clouds and everything is perfect, everything is good, So when Hafez makes the comparison to the Tavern and it’s wine to be a vine from Heaven, it creates the visual guarantee that the wine is the most spectacular wine in the moment Hafez is drinking it. This creates a connection to the second/main stanza in which Hafez proclaims that both him and the woman are drunkards, but it is okay to be so since drunkards have been cursed by with a divine decree from the Heavens to enjoy the wine and to be forgiven for it. Almost like a self-lie, to make himself feel better which doesn’t work because in the last stanza, Hafez recognizes that he struggles with stopping his addictions.

The way figurative language is used to convey love with Hafez and the woman/addictions is used to portray a true understanding of himself in which that he understands that these things are bad, he recognizes lust through the woman’s Narcissus-eyes, he crumbles to his addiction when he sees the woman’s wine-red lips, when the woman gets into bed with him, her warmth is like the warmth a rose gets in a cold morning, finally, Hafez is captured by his addiction/love for wine when he cements himself in by deeming his suffering as a divine decree. He is fully aware of what struggles he goes through, on the surface it looks like a very romantic evening but in reality Hafez knows he must get out, and yet he doesn’t possess the power to do so, forever entrapped.

Roman Arroyo

Compared Love in Rumi’s “Like This”

The poem “Like This”, by Rumi reveals the love the poet has for his beloved, so much that any question or feeling he has, can be correlated back to his lover. This poem of love has so much figurative language, specifically using similes to explicitly show the comparison of beautiful and religious events to his lover. This calls attention to the comparison itself and the implicit difference between them. Some people can even find that this comparison of such sacred events to his lover, an insult. An example is, “If anyone wonders how Jesus raised the dead, don’t try to explain the miracle. Kiss me on the lips. Like this. Like this.” ( Rumi, 21-23). This line can cause a lot of controversy for some people because even comparing his romantic gestures to such a religious event can anger people in the Islamic religion. For that line as well, he emphasizes “like this” twice, as if to express that his love can be compared to such an event. Which he doesn’t emphasize in any of the other similes in the whole poem. Islam teaches that the creation of everything in the universe was brought into being by God’s command and that the purpose of existence is to worship God. Yet the tenor of this poem is love and the vehicle is religion, not at all worshiping god directly in any of the lines. The poem almost gives a sense that he is worshipping his beloved by comparing her to God’s creations and claiming them as hers. An example is, “If anyone wants to know what “spirit” is, or what “God’s fragrance” means, lean your head toward him or her. Keep your face there close. Like this.” (Rumi, 11-15). From these lines, we readers can sense as if he sees her above God and almost worships her.

The love that this poet has for his beloved is an acceptance of Islamic spirituality. Since he references Shams whose meaning is the sun and is portrayed as the guide of Allah’s love of mankind, “When Shams comes back from Tabriz, he’ll put just his head around the edge of the door to surprise us” (Rumi, 51-53). Therefore, his similes of comparison for his beloved and Islamic spirituality references, make the spiritual side lost within the poem. He seems too fazed with her that in some lines of the poem, it seems as if he would lose his faith in all for her; “The soul sometimes leaves the body, the returns. When someone doesn’t believe that, walk back into my house. Like this.” (Rumi, 32-35). Through this poem we see his love for her is almost even greater than his faith yet, through the reference to Jacobs mourning for Joseph the speaker can show that their love is connected through spirituality. That their actions can be recognized with spirituality within it since love itself is a creation of God.

~Jeshua Rocha~

Pretty Women and Wine

In Hafez’s poem, “Ode 44”, figurative language is used to depict the dangers of temptation to the religious man by utilizing a continuous metaphor to compare temptation, the tenor, to a drunken woman, the vehicle.

The poem’s first stanza describes a woman who is wearing very little,” With tilted glass, and verses on her lips,” (line 3). This line utilizes a metonymy to establish that the woman is drunk. The “tilted glass” connotes a glass of alcohol that has been drunk and the “verses on her lips” mean that she must be singing or maybe even mumbling. Drunk people are known to slur their words and speak incoherently. So, the narrator chooses these words to establish the fact that the woman is drunk. This line creates an image of a drunk woman, who we know is half-naked from the previous line, singing a song. Later in the stanza, the woman, “slips into [the narrator’s] bed,” (line 7). This hyperbole creates a comedic effect and further emphasizes the fact that the woman is drunk because drunk people often stumble around and lose their bearings.

In the second stanza, the narrator uses irony to express his rationalization for being tempted. In lines 20-21, he says, “Yea, by the special privilege of heaven/ Foredoomed to drink and foreordained forgiven,” (Hafez). The irony here is that heaven is supposed to be a perfect holy place, yet the narrator believes it is heaven’s fault that he is tempted. If the heavens didn’t create wine, he would not be so easily tempted. This is further emphasized in line 26 where the narrator says, “O knotted locks, filled like a flower with scent,” (Hafez). This line uses a metaphor to compare his penitence to a “knotted lock” and then uses a simile to compare his desire to a “flower with scent”. How can a man not be tempted to bend down and smell a delicious rose? This is his rationale for wanting to be with a woman, especially if she offers him wine.

I believe this poem, in its original language, would have reflected an acceptance of Islam. The narrator clearly wants to be a sinless man, but the temptation is just too hard to resist sometimes. However, when the poem gets translated, it is hard to realize it was written by a Muslim. I would still know that this was written by somebody who followed a religion, but I would have guessed Christianity because of words like “Puritan” and “penitent”.

By: Tierney Bowden

Conflicting Between Religion or Desires

The poem that I chose to read and analyze is “Ode 44” by Hafez. This poem has a lot of romance/lust involved, but at the end of the poem you will see the regret and pain the speaker experiences for committing a sin: “How have you ravished this poor penitent,” (line 27). Some may see the relationship between the two people as love, but in my opinion it was pure lust. The speaker was very conflicted between choosing to follow his religion or follow his desires.

The speaker is religious by mentioning the “verses” in line 3: “…verses on her lips.” This line is considered as a metonymy because “verses” are short lines in the bible, but also the writing is arranged in a way that has rhythm. Considering this poem, the speaker was stating how not only they are religious, but the words that come from the woman’s lips flow enough to catch his attention. The speaker mentioned how her eyes are like the eyes of Narcissus: “Narcissus-eyes all shining for the fray,” (line 4) which is a metaphor. Narcissus is a figure from Greek mythology. He was known to be so handsome that he fell in love with his own reflection, which connected back to how the speaker is describing her beauty. He says how her beauty is immaculate, and she is too good for the “fray.” 

The speaker was so attentive to her beauty that he was so ready to break the promises he made, which were to give him “the special privilege of heaven,” (line 20). He even did feel guilty for going against his religion, but he was trying to convince himself why you shouldn’t reject the woman: “Who refused wine poured out by such a girl,” (line 15). Right after he stated that, he came to the realization of the sins he made for drinking and making love with the woman. In lines 22-24, the speaker is speaking to himself trying to convince himself that he is not alone and that there are many more men that broke these promises right after declaring them. Also, how they can’t keep these promises since he considers them to be hard. He caved into the woman’s beauty that he easily broke the promises. Lines 22-26 are a metonymy because he is stating how keeping these promises are difficult when he can’t resist the woman’s beauty.

I think the love in this poem is represented as a rejection of Islamic spirituality because the speaker started off with caving into the woman’s beauty and breaking the promises he made for heaven, then realizing his mistakes and asking for forgiveness, but he starts to convince himself that keeping such promises are impossible since the beauty and looks of the woman are so intoxicating that it makes him desire her. He comes to the conclusion stating how he wants the feeling of the pain and guilt of committing this sin to be “ravished” because when he wants her. 

Gurranvir Kaur

Escaping from reality

The poem that I decided to choose was Ode 487. This poem was about trying to use alcohol as an escape while acting on lust and desires. This poem talks about how acting out on your heart’s desires, under the influence, can give you immense confidence. To describe his emotions and environment in HAFEZ  line 4, “The harp and flute were up and in full swing.” This allows us to get a feel for how the alcohol was making him feel very warm and happy and almost gave him a sort of ecstatic energy boost. This also symbolizes that alcohol can evoke many different emotions, and it can get very chaotic. In this poem, the man is rejected, and in a way, his delusions fade due to him not getting what he wants, and he feels defeated, but then there is a sort of acceptance at the end of it all, understanding that things happen in life and that he needs to move on. He then realized that he could escape with alcohol and that, in the end, life doesn’t always turn out how you want. He chose to deliver figurative language in this poem through metaphor, symbolism, and personification.

After reading this poem , I noticed three types of figurative language That took place in this poem. Line 1, “The harp and flute were up and in full swing,” is a metaphor for how a hangover feels. The singing is a metaphor for the headache and pounding that could happen after drinking. Another metaphor that I noticed was in lines 8-9: “If you would reach your daily destination, The holy city of intoxication.” This is a metaphor for his trying to completely escape. He wants to be at a certain level of intoxication that makes him feel like he is on a different plane to satisfy his goal. HAFEZ also uses personification in line 4 “The harp and flute were up and in full swing,” which gives the harp and flute personification as if the objects could get on a swing. Lastly, I noticed that he used symbolism in line 25, “In the good ark of wine; yet, woe is me!” Wine and the feeling of intoxication symbolize Noah’s ark, a place where he feels safe and can drown his sorrows in, and it makes him feel some form of contentment with everything or it was supposed to. As for the question, I don’t think this would be accepted because this seems to be an act of love and not love at all. His partaking in the drinking of wine states that he is not in touch with the Islamic beliefs given, as the drinking of alcohol is discouraged. In a way, his relating the good ark to wine also hints that he is not quite a believer in the practices. However, on the women’s end, her rejection. could symbolize the fact that she was rejecting the worldly desires. However, overall The love does not align with Islamic spirituality because there was only lustful intent behind it.

Victoria Sasere

Spirituality, love, and its connection within Rumi’s “Like this”

Rumi’s poem “Like This” showcases the spirituality that is naturally interconnected with love. Rumi continuously answers spiritual questions with sensual and romantic gestures throughout the poem; “If anyone wonders how Jesus raised the dead, don’t try to explain the miracle. Kiss me on the lips.”  (Rumi, 21-23) Love has the ability to provide the answer to any question. The poet tells the audience that no knowledge is needed except that of love, as love would be the one to give that knowledge. Rumi also uses metaphors to further push this idea; “I am a sky where spirits live. Stare into this deepening blue, while the breeze says a secret” (Rumi, 39-41) with the speaker using the infinite sky and deep blue within their eyes to showcase the grandeur within their love and its infiniteness to showcase the answers that they hold, waiting only for the necessary questions to be asked. The ongoing repetition of the phrase “like this” also serves this purpose. Guiding the listener towards the necessary actions to recognize the importance of love and in turn noting the spirituality within it. 

Unfortunately, some of its deeper references to Islamic spirituality are lost with translation, yet still, in its translated state, it shows a great acceptance and embracement of Islamic spirituality. The strongest reference of which being the mentioning of Shams, who Rumi depicts as the guide of Allah’s love of mankind; “When Shams comes back from Tabriz, he’ll put just his head around the edge of the door to surprise us” (Rumi, 51-53) referencing Shams return from Tabriz to the speakers return to their lover, using it to symbolize the importance of love, but also showcasing the depth of their love comparing to someone as meaningful as Shams was to Rumi. finally, with the mention of Jacobs mourning for Joseph, the speaker compares their love as akin to that of Jacob’s towards his son in Genesis. Showcasing their love and closeness and their overall connection to spirituality. 

Eduardo Ojeda Jr

Forgive Me Father for I Have Sinned

 Exploring the themes of Temptation and Forgiveness Hafez writes about how he’s “Foredoomed to drink and foreordained forgiven”, which means he will be doomed to drink and will be forgiven anyway for it. By using alliteration in these lines, he shows how easy it is to get away with sinning. He also parallels ‘Fore’ in saying he’s rejecting responsibility.  He has so much love for drinking, which is a sin in the Islamic religion, so this represents the rejection of Islamic spirituality because it is not prohibited. Even though Haifez knows that there will always be temptations nearby he will choose them over being a saint and following the rules of Islamic religion. The reason is that he will be forgiven if he just pleads for it.

 Hafez also uses similes in a satirical way to signify that the woman in his poem is a temptation or the Iblis (devil) who will lead him down the bad path. For example, in “Warm as a dewy rose” this line compares the woman to a wet flower which is not warm, it’s a satirical way to express how she appears pleasing yet, she isn’t. By using the imagery of a woman Hafez shows the rejection he shows to Islamic spirituality because he doesn’t care what she’s there for he’ll take whatever she has. Since at the end of it all, he can just apologize like everyone else and be okay. 

 The poem Ode 44 by Hafez is a great interpretation of Adam and Eve of the temptation of the Apple. How the two showed great love for their God but still fell victim to the Tree of Wisdom and the snake guarding it. Haifez is woken by the woman calling him to sip on wine which is like the snake guiding Eve to take a bite of apple which she does. She bares the consequences and gets kicked out yet, in this poem, Haifez doesn’t care about the consequences and takes the sip and knows he isn’t the only man to have drunk before and will be forgiven just like the rest. 

Kelly Flores

Ode 44

The poem I chose was Ode 44 as seems like the poet is telling a story about the love between two people, it focuses on one night with a woman. As well as the poet, Hefez portrays this story through figurative language that helps to picture the stunning women, and it appears that he is religious due to his references to “The gods above Ordained this wine for us” (Hafez). It showed the readers that he was instantly taken by her and was intrigued. I also found that the poem seemed to focus on the idea of temptation and love. There is a lot to unpack within this poem as I’ve noticed that there can be different interpretations of what the poet’s true intention was. 

It seems that almost immediately the poet uses a metaphor, “Narcissus-eyes all shining for the fray, Filled full of frolic to her wine-red lips,” (Hafez).In this line, the poet appears to be using personification as well as a simile to portray the woman’s lips and how they may have looked attractive in a way. He chooses very specific words to describe the woman as he seems to compare her to the wine that they are drinking, which I found to be quite an interesting comparison. It also appears that the woman looks to be initiated as her body language says so, “Sudden she slips Into my bed – just in her little shift” (Hafez). Immediately after this happens the poet seems so excited to proceed with their relationship or what he believed was to happen. “ ‘ Oh my old lover, do you sleep or wake!’ And the instant I sat upright for her sake And drank whatever wine she poured for me-” (Hafez). It seems as though the poet hints at the idea that the two of them appear to be intoxicated as he mentions that he “drank whatever wine she poured for me”, which can insinuate that they weren’t sober as the poet had initially been talking about wine. 

I found that this poem did seem to surround the idea of temptation as well as his religion and how it appears that he may be talking more specifically of the temptations that he faced with this woman as well as how alcohol became a key factor within this temptation. It appears that both of these things combined created a huge temptation for the poet which can contribute to something that his God may not believe in. I’ve noticed how the poet also talked about his God throughout all of this, more specifically Islamic spirituality. As well as how the poem seems to embrace this spirituality. 

I am quite interested in what the poets initial intention for this poem is and what he actually wants us to interpret from it. I liked reading and analyzing this poem as it appears to be quite open to different interpretations.

Yue Wu-Jamison