| The fundamental theme of this thesis is that the maximum transfer of literary culture between two cultures occurs when the cultures are at the same phase of their evolutionary development.;The characteristics of an urban and commercial society at its zenith are scepticism, religious pluralism, and a vast entertainment and educational and scientific literature. Abbasid Bagdad and modern London had many points of similarity which made for a maximum transfer of literary influence.;Later, in America, Emerson used Persian literature which was relevant to the problem of establishing a secular society in America. Emerson was not interested in every kind of Persian literature, but only that which, for reasons stated in this paper, was relevant to his problems.;The major poets discussed in this paper are Firdusi, Hafiz, Omar Khayyam, and Sa'di. Minor poets are also discussed. The mystical poets Jami, Rumi, and Attar are discussed briefly, mainly to show why they do not quite fit into the framework of the Persian Renaissance but belong to a later phase.;The Persian literature which most greatly influenced the West in the XIX and the XX centuries is the literature of the Abbasid period. This is because the Abbasid society was an affluent urban society. The Victorian society of London was also an affluent commercial and urban society. Thus there were underlying factors which favored the development of interest in Persian literature from the Abbasid period.;Questions are raised about the validity of some of the scholarship of the past and new avenues of research are indicated.;The research on Omar Khayyam and Fitzgerald's Rubaiyat is believed to have been colored by partisan attitudes toward the Rubaiyat's content, even when criticism was stated as being on philological grounds. A greater detachment from attitudes toward the content is suggested for future research.;In the final chapter current literary trends are noted and related to the current cultural situation. Research of the past on Sufism is obsolete and needs updating because of rapid changes on Sufism.;Finally it is stated that the future of Persian studies will depend upon the quality of the effort invested. |
