Hafez, Iran’s foremost prodigy in lyric poetry, who lived in the 14th century Persia, was also the nemesis of religious zealots of his time and beyond. Beyond a literally acclaim of unsurpassed scale, his poetry is viewed by masses with an aura of unearthly magnetism. His anthology, divan, is consulted by common folks for inspiration and guidance in crucial crossroads of their lives through the age-old practice of bibliomancy. Little wonder that his vision and philosophy have fallen prey to fantasizing and mystification.

The Swiss-Iranian author Darioush Bayandor made an effort to demystify Hafez in an essay titled, Hafez, A Face-off with Virtue published in Journal of Middle Eastern and North African Intellectual and Cultural Studies, New York State University, in fall 2006. The original English could be accessed here : Hafez A Face off with Virtue.pdf.

The French rendition of the essay by the author is here : Hafez _ Affronter la Vertu_VF