We all have heard of Romeo and Juliet, but have you heard of Layla and Majnun? Storytelling is a central aspect of the human experience. The Middle East has a complex, rich literature scene that deserves greater attention. Students should recognize that literature extends beyond Shakespeare and Salinger, offering a wealth of timeless narratives that span cultures and centuries.
Penned by Azerbaijani poet Nizami Ganjavi, “Layla and Majnun” is a tragic narrative poem about two star-crossed lovers whose passion for each other ultimately ends in death. It follows a young poet named Qays, enamored by a girl named Layla, who reciprocates his feelings. Qays, consumed by love, descends into madness, thus earning the title “Majnun,” Arabic for “the madman.” Layla’s family notices Majnun’s unstable state and forbids the two from marrying. Layla is arranged to marry another man and dies of heartbreak, buried in her wedding dress as per her request. When Majnun learns of her death, he visits her grave and beside it, dies of a broken heart, unable to live without her.
The tale’s origin began long before Ganjavi’s official writing of it, with countless renditions circulating in fifth-century Arabia in the form of oral anecdotes and manuscript fragments. Ganjavi’s version popularized the concept in seventh-century Persia, inspiring poets in Turkey, Pakistan and India to create their own renditions.
At first glance, the story may seem reminiscent of “Romeo and Juliet” — two young people deeply in love, disapproving families and both lovers dying in the end. While the concept of star-crossed lovers is far from unique — as love stories have been a central theme in literature for centuries — there is a plausible connection between these two narratives. Italian literature in the 11th and 12th centuries was heavily influenced by Persian stories, and since Shakespeare is known to have borrowed the plot from the Italian writer Luigi Da Porto, it is not unlikely that the story of “Layla and Majnun” influenced Shakespeare’s creation of his iconic tragedy.
Though there is still much of Middle Eastern literature to explore, there is no shortage of revolutionary poets from the region.
“What you seek is seeking you;” “You have to keep breaking your heart until it opens;” “The world is a mountain, in which your words are echoed back to you.”
The West has seen no shortage of Rumi quotes peppered throughout popular culture, but they deserve mention nonetheless.
Jalaluddin Muhammed Rumi, better known mononymously as Rumi, was a 13th-century poet, Islamic scholar and Sufi mystic — one practicing a mystical branch of Islam — from what is currently the city of Balkh in Afghanistan. Having spent most of his life in Konya, Turkiyë, Rumi published literature that would alter the course of poetry in South and Central Asia and continue to remain relevant centuries later.
Perhaps his most famous work, the “Masnavi” is a six-volume poem consisting of roughly 27,000 lines that, teaches Sufis “how to reach their goal of being truly in love with God.”
Rumi is considered to be a best-selling poet in the United States. Why? The answer is simple: Rumi’s work is so widely loved precisely because of love. His messages about human nature and soul-searching transcend boundaries and speak to the heart of humanity, regardless of time, place or faith. Whether one is seeking a stronger connection with their God or is looking for comforting words during tough times, Rumi’s poetry provides an avenue for them.
Timeless stories and the wisdom of poets offer valuable lessons that deserve a place in today’s classrooms. Expanding literary curriculum to include these works would provide students with a broader, more global perspective, and therefore a deeper understanding of the world and all it has to offer them.
In the words of Rumi: “You were born with wings, why prefer to crawl through life?”
