Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. mir babbar ali anis (1803-1874) son and grandson of poets. He has a huge portfolio of marsia/elegy about the battle of karbala. This is a selection showing parallels between mir anis and William Shakespeare from a book written by Ghulam Imam. This particular selection describes how each views/judges the quality of verse.

pahla inteKhaab

voh mauqa¹ ho ke dekheN jo ise ahl-e-sha’oor²
har varaq³ meN kahiN saaya nazar aae kahiN noor
Ghul⁴ ho, yeh hai kashish⁵-e-moo⁶-e-qalam⁷, turra-e-hoor⁸
aek ek harf⁹ meN ho san’at¹⁰-e-sa’ana¹¹ ka zahoor¹²
koii naazir¹³ jo yeh naayaab¹⁴ nazeereN¹⁵ samjhe
naqsh-e-auraNg¹⁶ go kaavaak¹⁷ lakeereN samjhe1.opportunity, time, place 2.people of wisdom/refinement 3.page 4.cry, announcement 5.attraction, pull 6.hair (as in paint brush) 7.pen/paint brush 8.crest/forelocks of hoorie 9.word 10.workmanship, skill 11.craftsman, creator 12.evidence, manifestation 13.one who can see, discriminating 14.rare 15.likeness, examples, similes 16.etchings of the throne 17.empty, useless, meaningless
(Poetry) should be such that when discriminating people see it, on every page, they are able to separate truth from falsehood. A cry should go forth that this is the enchantment of the paint brush, the hoori’s crest. Every word should be a manifestation of the skill of the creator/writer. When the discriminating see these rare similes, they should consider the etchings of a throne meaningless by comparison.

qalam-e-fikr¹ se kheeNchooN jo kisi bazm² ka raNg³
shama-e-tasveer⁴ peh girne lageN aa aa ke pataNg⁵
saaf hairat-zada⁶ ma’ani ho to bahzaad⁷ ho daNg⁸
KhooN barasta nazar aae jo dikhaauN saf-e-jaNg⁹
razm¹⁰ aisi ho keh dil sub ke phaRak jaaeN abhi
bijliaaN teGhauN¹¹ ki aaNkhauN meN chamak jaaeN abhi1.pen of imagination/creativity 2.assembly 3.colour/condition 4.lamp in the picture 5.moths 6.surprise creating 7.renowned artist in the court of Saffavid Iran 8.amazed 9.war formation 10.war, conflict 11.swords
When I sketch a picture with my creative pen moths should come swarming to the picture of the candle on the page and even bahzad should be amazed as hidden meaning becomes clear. If I sketch war formation, they should see blood flowing. The description of war should be such that hearts shudder with swords flashing like lightning before their eyes.

mir anis – doosra inteKhaab

taubah¹!  tanaafur-e-kalamaat² aur yeh dahn³
jumle⁴ saheeh⁵ shusta⁶ o rafta⁷ har ek suKhan⁸
phoola⁹ hua fasaahat-e-alfaaz¹⁰ ka chaman
taqreer¹¹ voh, samajh leN jise saaf¹² mard-o-zan¹³
ma’ani¹⁴ ka bhi yeh haal hai husn-e-qubool¹⁵ se
Khushboo sahr¹⁶ ko jaise nikalti hai phool se 1.god forbid 2.hatred/insult to speech 3.mouth, lips 4.sentences 5.accurate 6.pure, chaste 7.flowing 8.utterance, speech 9.fourishing, bountiful 10.fluency/eloquence of words 11.speech 12.clear 13.men and women 14.meaning 15.beauty that is agreed upon, universal 16.dawn
God forbid, that these lips should show disrespect to speech. Sentences should be accutate and chaste with harmonious flow. The garden of eloquence should be bountiful. Speech should be such that all men and women understand. The subtelty of meaning should carry such beauty as the fragrance of flowers at dawn.

lafzauN¹⁷ meN yuN hai ma’ani-e-raushan¹⁸ ki aab-o-taab¹⁹
jis tarah aks²⁰ aaiine meN jaam²¹ meN gulaab²²
mazmoon²³ meN tanaasub-e-alfaaz²⁴ lajavaab²⁵
tasreeh²⁶ bhi, faseeh²⁷ kunaayah²⁸ bhi inteKhaab²⁹  17.words 18.bright meaning 19.brilliance and grandeur 20.image, reflection 21.cup, goblet 22.wine 23.subject, article (writing) 24.proportion/balance of words 25.without equal 26.explanation, elucidation 27.elegant 28.pointing to, indicating 29.selection
Words should reflect the brilliance of reality as a reflection in a mirror or as wine shining through the goblet. Incomparable balance in the subject matter explaining with elegance, the selection of words showing high taste.

Standards of Art – William Shakespeare

Both Shakespeare and Mir Anis set high standards for their writing.  Mir Anis wrote directly about what he expected his words to do.  Shakespeare’s goals can be heard from the mouth of Hamlet.  Hamlet has arranged a play to be performed before the court to play out the murder of his father that his uncle committed.  He wants the play to mimic reality and elicit a reaction from his uncle which would convince him that he indeed committed murder.  He is instructing the players how to perform, balancing expression and exaggeration without overstepping.  These words can easily represent how Shakespeare himself thought a play should be written/performed.

Shakespeare describes his writing as – “holding a mirror up to nature” or as reflecting/imitating nature.  Anis says the same thing but using a much more powerful metaphor – “shama-e-tasveer peh girne lageN aa aa ke pataNg” meaning “the sketch of the flame should be so realistic that moths come circling around it and fall into it”.

Shakespeare aims his writing at the sophisticated audience.  He is concerned about “(not) making the judicious grieve” and Anis’ intended audience is “ahl-e-sha’oor”.

Here is the passage from Hamlet …

Hamlet – The Complete Pelican Shakespeare p 952

Be not too tame neither; but let your own discretion be your
tutor.
Suit the action to the word, the word to the action;
With this special observance, that you o’erstep not the modesty of nature:
For anything so overdone is from the purpose of playing,
whose end, both at the first and now, was and is, to hold, as
’twere, the mirror up to nature;
To show Virtue her own feature, scorn her own image, and the very age and body of the time his form and pressure.
Now this overdone, or come tardy off, though it make the unskilful laugh, cannot but make the judicious grieve;
the censure of the which one must in your allowance o’erweigh a whole theatre of others.

Timon of Athens – The Complete Pelican Shakespeare p 1164

In “Timon of Athens”, a poet and a portrait painter have come to offer their services to Timon.  Timon praises them for creating a good “counterfeit” (imitation) of nature and says to the poet …

Why, thy verse swells with stuff so fine and smooth
That thou art even natural in thine art.