A Comparison between Sho-oori Kāshi's Mehr o Vafā and Nizāmi's Khosrow o Shirin

Sho-oori Kāshi was an 11th-century AH poet. According to biographies his poetry were comprised of six thousand couplets, however the only existing copy of his poetry includes some strophes and quatrains plus two Masnavis (double-rhymed verses) named Moones e Akhyār and Mehr o Vafā. The biographies mention the outset of his work contemporary with Shah Esmāil Safavi (the 2nd, apparently), however, he in his poems eulogizes Shāh Abbās the Great and his vizier Hatam Beik. A review of his survived works and biographical texts indicates that he was mastered in composing qasīdah (odes), ghazal (lyrics), rubaI (quatrains), masnavi (double-rhymed verses) and in particular chronograms. This paper presents a comparative study between Sho-oori Kāshi’s Mehr o Vafā and Nizāmi’s Khosrow o Shirin. It begins with an overview to the imitations of Nizāmi Ganjavi, followed by introducing Sho-oori and his works. Then the style of Nizāmi and his imitators is discussed. The next part focuses on the Masnavi Mehr o Vafā and narrates the summary and setting of the story. The paper ends with a comparison between the two narratives both on the terms of structure and content. In respect of the content, the most important difference between them is the storyline and plot; similar to all the narratives after the 10th century AH and probably under the impact of the school of “Voghoo” (earthliness) in Persian literature, the story of Sho-oori is more earthly and less emotional. Likewise, the main differences of Mehr o Vafā in terms of form and structure include concision, simplicity, and use of colloquial phrases.