doctrineofinspiredlibertinismorrindī(seebelow:ProlegomenonII,p.31–55).In
‘Ubayd’slyrics,whichlargelyfollowSa‛dī’sstyle,theperplexingethicalandpro-
foundtheologicaldepths,amazingspiritualtransportsandthebewilderinglycom-
plexmysticalallusivenessthatfillḤāfiẓ’sversearecompletelyabsent.Bothpoets
wereindeedardentsocialreformists,butinhisuseofsatireandparodythedis-
courseandvoiceofḤāfiẓneverdescendstothefacetiousandlibellouslevelthat
‘Ubaydalmostalwaysinhabits.^71 TheintellectualfraternitybetweenthetwoShīrāzī
poetswasaproductofsharedsocialnotofcommonspiritualattitudes,andlay,as
Mu‘īnrightlystates,‘intheirmutualoppositiontohypocrisy,theirrepressibilityof
theirpoeticnatures,andtheirfullydevelopedpenchantforpleasantryandjesting’.^72
Ahostoflesser-knownpoetsalsoflourishedalongsideḤāfiẓinShīrāz,whose
poeticvoices,moodsandimagesallfindresonancesoftheirowninhisverse.These
includethelikesofPrincessJahān-MalikKhātūn(d.after795/1393),thegreatest
femalepoetofmedievalIran,whocomposed‘thelargestknowndīvāntohave
survivedfromanywomanpoetofpre-modernIran’,^73 andBushāqAṭ‘amah-iShīrāzī
(d.827/1423or830/1427),thesupremecomic(andonlyculinary)poetinPersian
literature, whose entire oeuvre consisted of lyrical lampoons on other poets
usingexclusivelytheimageryoffoodandeating.MostofBushāq’sghazalswere
deliberateparodies(taqīḍa)ofḤāfiẓandothercontemporarypoets,suchasShāh
Ni‘matu’llāh.^74
Theaboveoverviewofsomeofthemajorandminorpoetscontemporarywith
Ḥāfiẓinfourteenth-centuryPersiaonlygivesaverysuperficialindicationofthe
immenserichnessofthePersianpoetictraditioninwhichhewassteeped.Scholars
havelongknownthefactthatmanyofḤāfiẓ’slyricswerecomposedinimitationof
themetricalandrhymingschemesofpreviousghazalwritersinatime-honoured
tradition.TheentireDīvān-i Ḥāfiẓconstitutesanintratextualcommentaryonthe
lyricaltraditionpresentinPersiasincetheeleventhcentury,whichiswhyinmany
editionsofḤāfiẓ’sDīvānseveralpagesofintroductionaredevotedtotracingthe
versesthatheappropriatedfrompreviouspoets,thenrecastandreusedinhisown
poetry,aphenomenonwhichhasbeenthesubjectofanumberoflongscholarly
essays.^75
ConnoisseurshipofPoetryintheAgeofḤāfiẓ
TheaudiencewholistenedtotherecitationofḤāfiẓ’sghazalsweresomeofthemost
formidablyeducatedandexactinglyculturedmenthatPersianshaveeverbeen.
Whenherecitedorsunghispoems–and‘Ḥāfiẓ’todayisstillatermusedfora
singerandbard^76 –tothisintellectualnobility,heknewquitewellthattheywereall
supremeconnoisseursofverse.Manyofhislistenerswerepoetsthemselveswho
wouldhaveknownbyheartmanyghazalsbyhisfamousforebears(‘Aṭṭār,Rūmī,
‘Irāqī,Sa‛dī...)andillustriouscontemporaries(Salmān,Khwājū,KamālKhujandī...).
Incateringtothatelite,supersophisticatedcircleofspecialists,Ḥāfiẓ’ssuccesslayḤāfiẓintheSocio-historical,LiteraryandMysticalMilieuofMedievalPersia 11