Essays on Literature, History & Society: Selected Works of Professor Syed Naqi Husain Jafri

The writings and conference presentations of Syed Naqi Husain Jafri presented in the volume take up topics in Indian history and society. They deal with a range of themes: ghazal as a form of non-conformist poetry, Hispano-Arabic strains in English poetry, Sufi themes in Awadhi and Hindavi poetry, madrasa education and the Hindi-Urdu controversy. Characterised by a rare depth of analysis, they also take up other subjects like American poetry in the present age, image of the Orient in Shakespeare’s works and need for a postcolonialist literary theory. They study individual works as well, providing interpretations of works including Drayton’s The Moone-Calfe (1627) and The Muses Elyzium (1630) and Qurratulain Hyder’s My Temples, Too, and of Albee’s vision of life in his plays.