Carpe diem in the Poetry of Hâfiz and Khayyâm: A Comparative Study

This paper is a comparative study of the interpretations of Hâfiz and Khayyâm of Carpe diem, presupposing that a meaningful relationship can be found between the two interpretations.Carpe diem, as understood by Hâfiz, is analyzed on the basis of ideas such as "Eternal Theophany", "Divine Order", and "God's Grace", by believing in which, Hâfiz finds a character to accept the fortunes, as well as misfortunes of life, and to drink well the pure wine, as well as the lees. The easygoing attitude of Khayyâm, on the other hand, is that of a man who knows the truth but is unable to analyze it. In other words, this attitude is an inevitable resort for a thinker who finds no answer to the question of death. Therefore the interpretation of Carpe diem by Hâfiz is a resistant activity based on an intuitive logic, while that of Khayyâm is a receptive reaction originated from a mathematical logic. Taking another viewpoint, these two interpretations reveal two ways of encountering life and death.