_The Lyrical_.--We have already noted the acceptance of the
_Asrarnama_. Among the other literary influences, according to Mr.
Nicholson, we may note the poems of Sana'ī, Sa'di, and Nīzamī. The
fact that Jalál's poetry sometimes faintly resembles Omar Khayyám's
is too slight to be of any value. Mr. Nicholson very ably sums up
the nature of the _Masnavi_ and _Divan_ respectively: "The one is a
majestic river, calm and deep, meandering through many a rich and
varied landscape to the immeasurable ocean; the other a foaming torrent
that leaps and plunges in the ethereal solitude of the hills." The
poetry of Jalál is not of equal merit. His work seldom if ever has the
technical polish of Jámí. There is too much of it; too much produced
in the belief that all his poetry was inspired. He is fond of harping
on certain words, and as far as the translations are concerned he has
little sense of humour.[7] There was certainly room for a touch of
humour in the poet's description of Iblis receiving from God a gift of
beautiful women whereby to tempt mankind; but Jalál entirely ignores
it. These weaknesses are almost lost in the strength and purity and
lyrical grandeur of many of Jalál's poems. He carries us along on a
torrent of heavenly music. The rhythmic, swing of his wonderful dance
is soul-stirring. We seem to move exultantly, ecstatically, to the
sound of the poet's singing, far behind the silver stars into the
Presence of the Beloved. With what reverence, with what a glow of
simile and subtle suggestion he describes the Beauty of the Beloved!
With what exquisite passion he foretells the Eternal Union! Then
there is a lull in this fierce spiritual song, and Jalál sings, ever
so gently and with an infinite tenderness, about human tears being
turned into "rain-clouds." He sings about the meeting of two friends
in Paradise, with the oft-repeated refrain, "Thou and I." There seems
in this poem an indescribable and almost pathetic play on the idea of
human friendship and the Divine Friendship, a yearning tenderness for
that human shadow, passing shadow though it be. Jalál appears to have
the power of producing almost orchestral effects in his music of the
Spheres. There is that terrific touch of Wagner about his poetry, and
in those suggestive Wagner-pauses there is a tenderness of expression
more touching, more truly great than the loud triumphant notes. Jalál
has truly said: "Our journey is to the Rose-Garden of Union." He sang
about, the Divine Rose-Garden; but he did not forget to sing about the
roses that fade and the human hearts that ache. We seem to see Jalál
ever bowing to the little child in all his wonderful singing.
_The Masnavi_.--Jalál is said to have been forty-three years engaged
in writing the _Masnavi_. Often whole nights were spent in its
composition, Jalál reciting and his friend Hasam copying it down and
sometimes singing portions of the verse in his beautiful voice. At the
completion of the first book Hasam's wife died, and two years elapsed
before the work was continued. The _Masnavi_ is full of profound
mysteries, and is a most important book in the study of Súfíism--
mysteries which must, for the most part, be left to the discernment
of the reader. Jalál himself has said that great Love is silent. It
is in Silence that we shall come to understand the supreme Mystery
of Love that has no comparison. The key-note to the _Masnavi_ may
be found in the Prologue to the first book. The poet here sings of
the soul's longing to be united with the Beloved. The fact that he,
and all other Súfí poets, use as an analogy the love between man and
woman renders the spiritual meaning extremely vague. We have, however,
already considered this point in the introduction, and it needs no
further explanation. The _Masnavi_ has all the pantheistic beauty of
the Psalms, the music of the hills, the colour and scent of roses,
the swaying of forests; but it has considerably more than that. These
things of scent and form and colour are the Mirror of the Beloved;
these earthy loves the journey down the valley into the Rose-Garden
where the roses never fade, and where Love is.
[Footnote 1: Book of Mysteries.]
[Footnote 2: Iconium.]
[Footnote 3: _The Fool of the World_.]
[Footnote 4: _The Festival of Spring_. Translated by the Rev. Prof.
William Hastie.]
[Footnote 5: See _The Masnavi_. Translated by Sir James W. Rodhouse.]
[Footnote 6: "The Acts of the Adepts."]
[Footnote 7: Prof. C. E. Wilson informs me that Jalál certainly had a
very fair sense of humour, and that in the original there is often a
clever and witty play on words.]