Manifestation of Khayyam's Meditation in Central Kurmanji Kurdish Poetry (1920–1970)

Abstract

Khayyam’s philosophy is extensive and profound, any attempt to define its boundaries is inadequate. Since, it is universal and it cannot be associated to a single nation or country. The poets who enter this field with distinctive ability are few but inspiring. Khayyam’s international fame reached its peak after Edward FitzGerald’s translation of his quatrains in the late nineteenth century. Besides, the universal themes of his quatrains brought him worldwide recognition, and his aesthetic ability compensated his brevity. One cannot overlook Khayyam’s impact on his neighboring Kurdish poets due to geographical and linguistic affinity.

This research is titled, “Khayyam’s Philosophy as Depicted in the Middle Kurmanji Kurdish Poetry (1920-1970)”. It is a comparative investigation utilizing descriptive-analytical methodology, based on the principles of the French school of comparative literature. The study compares Khayyam’s selected quatrains that influenced certain poems of middle Kurmanji Kurdish poets during the years 1920 and 1970.  It aims is to reveal Khayyam’s influence on these poets through analyzing the poetic instances.  One of the notable conclusions of the research is that, Khayyam’s influence on some of these Kurdish poets was not random rather it was intentional adopted for certain purposes. At times, they even artistically recreated and enhanced Khayyam’s ideas in their poems.