Interest in the Persian poet and mystic, Hafiz (1315-1390) increased in the 18th century in the West with the translations of Sir William Jones (1746- 1794) in England. The German translation by Baron von Hammer-Purgstall inspired Goethe in the 19th century to write the West-Eastern Divan (published in 1819). The poetry of Hafiz made Goethe so enthusiastic that he referred to Hafiz as „Holy Hafiz” and „Heavenly Friend”. Inspired by Goethe's „West-Eastern Divan”, a number of German poets, such as Rückert and Graf Platen, wrote poems based on the model of Ghazal, a poetic form that Hafiz had perfected in Persian literature. Wagner’s friend (and later enemy) Friedrich Nietzsche can also be counted among the German thinkers who were influenced and fascinated by Hafiz. After investigating these historical statements, the article elaborates on how Wagner benefited from the form and content of Hafez’s poetry.
Fiedler,M. (2021). Richard Wagner and Hafiz; Hafiz and the Hafiz reception in the West. Spektrum Iran, 34(1), 77-84. doi: 10.22034/spektrum.2021.184661
MLA
Fiedler,M. . "Richard Wagner and Hafiz; Hafiz and the Hafiz reception in the West", Spektrum Iran, 34, 1, 2021, 77-84. doi: 10.22034/spektrum.2021.184661
HARVARD
Fiedler M. (2021). 'Richard Wagner and Hafiz; Hafiz and the Hafiz reception in the West', Spektrum Iran, 34(1), pp. 77-84. doi: 10.22034/spektrum.2021.184661
CHICAGO
M. Fiedler, "Richard Wagner and Hafiz; Hafiz and the Hafiz reception in the West," Spektrum Iran, 34 1 (2021): 77-84, doi: 10.22034/spektrum.2021.184661
VANCOUVER
Fiedler M. Richard Wagner and Hafiz; Hafiz and the Hafiz reception in the West. SPIR, 2021; 34(1): 77-84. doi: 10.22034/spektrum.2021.184661
