Gertrude Bell

Gertrude Bell lived an extraordinary life, chiefly remembered for her pioneering assimilation of Arabic culture. Amidst a litany of achievements both academic and cultural her life also displayed certain paradoxes. Despite being a brilliant scholar, archaeologist, mountaineer and linguist, she also found time to be a leading figure for the anti Suffragette Movement (perhaps bizarrely saying if women were still interested in housework, why should they get the vote). Uniquely for her time she mingled easily with Arab princes, playing a formative role in the creation of the modern state of Iraq. (Some have even called her “The Mother of Iraq”) In a Victorian era that stifled Women’s role in society, she proved a fearless traveller spending many years crossing the deserts of Arabia and befriending the Arab people. Even though the Arabic princes were unaccustomed to a women playing such a pivotal role in politics they generally warmly accepted her and she in turn felt part of their culture. As a leading figure in the formation of modern Iraq, Gertrude Bell could be described as a proud British imperialist. Yet she still found time to help bring to light the mystical Sufi poetry of Hafiz, offering a sympathetic translation that is still popular today. Not without reason her biographer Victor Winstone described the life of Gertrude Bell as:

“An almost an uninterrupted succession of extraordinary achievements” (1)Gertrude Bell and Hafiz.

Admist all her influential activities in the Arabic world for which she is primarily and rightly remembered Gertrude Bell also compiled one of the early English translations of the Sufi poet Hafiz, who along with Rumi have recently become popularised in the West. On the poetry of Hafiz, Bell wrote:

“These are the utterances of a great poet, the imaginative interpreter of the heart of man;
they are not of one age, or of another, but for all time”

Gertrude Bell (1)



Hafiz is renowned as one of the most celebrated Persian poets. Living in the 14th Century, Hafiz was frequently persecuted for his disregard for the religious and political orthodoxy. People read different things into his poetry but he was unequivocal in his denunciation of religious rituals that were devoid of spiritual intensity. He also wrote extensively on the theme of love, both human and divine, alluding to the ecstasy of mystical union with the Divine.

In depicting the intensity of love, Gertrude Bell thought Hafiz comparable to the West’s own Shakespeare.

“My weary heart eternal silence keeps--
I know not who has slipped into my heart;
Though I am silent, one within me weeps.
My soul shall rend the painted veil apart.”

- Hafiz (2)

~~~

"I have estimated the influence of Reason upon Love
and found that it is like that of a raindrop upon the ocean,
which makes one little mark upon the water's face and disappears."

- Hafiz (3)



Ironically in the Victorian age a prevalent view of Islam was that it was a religion of great liberalism, even licentiousness. This was because the great Sufi poets such as Hafiz and Omar Khayyam expressed passionate love for their beloved and used terminology such as being in “drunk with the wine” In fact these were mere allegories of Divine love. Wine was a symbol of the divine ecstasy. A Tavern was the place of worship. Although Bell felt Hafiz was not only writing about mystical experiences she was able to interpret this unusual language and terms of the Sufi’s and offer a sympathetic translation. This shows Bell’s natural sympathy with a foreign culture and is an indication of how she was able to transcend her very British Victorian upbringing to immerse herself in a completely foreign culture. – Even a century later there are few western women who have been able to integrate so closely with the Arabic culture and people. A rare occurrence in Victorian Britain, and even rarer for a women to assimilate another very male dominated culture.

Drops of his Heart's Blood
THE nightingale with drops of his heart's blood
Had nourished the red rose, then came a wind,
And catching at the boughs in envious mood,
A hundred thorns about his heart entwined.
Like to the parrot crunching sugar, good
Seemed the world to me who could not stay
The wind of Death that swept my hopes away.

Light of mine eyes and harvest of my heart,
And mine at least in changeless memory!
Ah, when he found it easy to depart,
He left the harder pilgrimage to me!
Oh Camel-driver, though the cordage start,
For God's sake help me lift my fallen load,
And Pity be my comrade of the road!

My face is seamed with dust, mine eyes are wet.
Of dust and tears the turquoise firmament
Kneadeth the bricks for joy's abode; and yet . . .
Alas, and weeping yet I make lament!
Because the moon her jealous glances set
Upon the bow-bent eyebrows of my moon,
He sought a lodging in the grave-too soon!

I had not castled, and the time is gone.
What shall I play? Upon the chequered floor
Of Night and Day, Death won the game-forlorn
And careless now, Hafiz can lose no more.

Anyway You could find the other poems of Hafiz in this site http://www.poetseers.org
Besides know that the Hafiz ebook is published recently ($6:89).
However the translation of Hafiz poems in english could not compaired to Farsi language translation.We persian ,talk to him by his book.Open it and read it and get our answer from him.Imagine how his book is complete.In our new year ceremoney(21th of March) we put Qoran(our Holy book) on our table plus Hafiz poems book !.