The Tragedy of Love in Nizami Ganjavi’s Layla and Majnun and William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet

Layla and Majnun, composed by Jamal ad-Din Abu Muḥammad Nizami Ganjavi (1141-1209), is one of the most popular narrative poems in the Near East just in the same way that William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet (1597) is an everlasting literary work in western literature. BothLayla and Majnun and Romeo and Juliet narrate famous pathetic love stories in which an imploring lover expresses his sincere love to his beloved. Both Majnun and Romeo are referred to as pathetic lovers whose stories arouse sympathy and compassion. A sound comparison of these twomasterpieces indicates the common grounds of human emotions regardless of race and nationality. This article compares the depiction of tragedies induced by love in Nizami Ganjavi’s Layla and Majnun and William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet as two masterpieces written by twoillustrious literary figures that belong to two distinct cultures. The paper will highlights both differences and affinities between the selected works. It will be argued that the cultural backgrounds of the lovers influence their important decisions in the course of love. The westerncouple resolutely defy the conventions of the society, whereas the eastern lovers remain submissive and passive.

کلیدواژه ها:

love ، death ، culture ، poet ، tragedy