A Comparative Study of Love in Emerson’s Essays and Attar’s The Conference of the Birds

Abstract

Love has always shone as one of the major themes in literature. A great number of writers and poets have enriched their works with it and created memorable stories. However, not many have delved into the very nature of love itself to see what it really is and where it comes from. Hence, the present essay aims to stay away from the typical analysis of love and will instead focus solely on the nature of this immeasurable force through a comparative view on Emerson and Attar’s thoughts on the concept. To gain an understanding of their spiritual thoughts, the research focuses on comparing and contrasting Emerson’s essays with Attar’s The Conference of the Birds. The study is descriptive-analytical in nature and follows the American school of comparative literature. Through the analysis it is revealed that the two literary figures share many similar thoughts. To both of them beauty and love are considered the source of the universe. Furthermore, in their views true love leads to self-knowledge. The difference between the two is shown to be that Emerson has a more humanistic approach towards love, whereas Attar has a more mystically divine one. In the end, Attar’s influence on Emerson is identified as well.