From Shakespeare's Phoenix to Attar's Simorgh: A Study of Transition from the Sensory to the Ideal World

Richards believes that the phoenix in Attar's poetry is a guide for the soul's return to God. The present study discusses how accurate Richard’s words about Shakespeare's poetry are. Shakespeare's poem is about a mourning gathering where birds have prepared for two lovers and their beloved, turtle-dove and the phoenix, which have recently passed away. What connects Shakespeare's poetry to the tradition of Persian mysticism is a type of mystical knowledge that comes through discovery and intuition, not through conscious awareness and logical reasoning. The most important similarity between the two works is the merging of the phoenix in Attar's poem and the turtle with the phoenix in Shakespeare's poetry. The most important difference is that in Attar's poem, the birds embark on a mystical journey to unite with the phoenix, but in Shakespeare's poetry, it is not a journey or spiritual practice, but rather pure and platonic love between the phoenix and turtle. Another point is that both works pay attention to the concept of reason: reason is amazed by this mystical journey and the unity and indescribability of the lover and the beloved. However, the most common point is that both the phoenix and turtle and the Simurgh must perish in order to achieve immortality. The turtle and the phoenix see their survival in the newly-born phoenix. In the end, the unity of existence in Islamic mysticism corresponds and resembles Platonic love: both transcend the sensory world and enter the ideal world.
Introduction

A. Richards, in the midst of his lecture and article, when the discussion turns to the symbolic and mystical meaning of the love relationship between the phoenix and the turtle by W. Shakespeare, quotes a few verses from Attar's Manteq al-Tayr (The Conference of the Birds) about the phoenix, mistakenly equating it with Attar's Simurgh. However, the issue is not whether Shakespeare was influenced by Attar or not; rather, the question is how the two poets’ approaches to the allegorical story have been. Can a comparative analysis of these works reveal the poets' thoughts and the social environments of these works? To what extent can Richards’ remarks about the mystical meaning of the phoenix and the turtle be considered accurate? This study seeks to demonstrate that in Shakespeare's poetry, we are dealing with the perceptible world, while in Attar's poetry, we are engaged with the world of ideas.

 
Review of the Literature
The discussion and analysis of allegory in the context of Manteq al-Tayr (The Conference of the Birds) has been explored in various Iranian and non-Iranian sources. Numerous references to the works of Shakespeare and Attar can be found in a multitude of texts and references (see Ritter, 1999; Zarrinkoub, 1984; Pournamdarian, 1985; Parsanasb, 2011, among other sources on Attar). Many articles have examined Attar's organized system in comparison with the works of some non-Iranian poets and writers. Concerning the allegorical poetry of the phoenix and the turtle, especially in terms of its connection to Persian allegorical and mystical narratives, currently there is, to the best of the author’s knowledge, no available source, and this study marks one of the initial steps in this direction.
 
Methodology
The primary research method will be based on qualitative content analysis of two works, namely Attar's and Shakespeare's, employing a comparative thematic approach. In this method, an attempt will be made to analyze the content of the thoughts in these two works based on the theme of the spiritual journey and conduct, represented by the phoenix and the Simurgh, through a comparative examination of the two works. The main objective is to identify similarities and differences between the two works in terms of the theme of the spiritual journey and conduct. This thematic analysis will follow a qualitative-explanatory approach, relying on library tools and within the framework of historical research methods. It will involve the examination of available documents and sources, especially the works of Shakespeare and Attar. The research data are selected from these two works based on the identified thematic framework.
Most critics have attempted to evaluate the poetry of the phoenix and the turtle from various important perspectives, including political, historical, structural, symbolic, religious, and mystical. However, a notable characteristic of this poetry is its versatility and interpretability from various perspectives and viewpoints. This poetry, as indicated in the title, is allegorical and, due to its allegorical structure, is open to any interpretation and explanation. More specifically, it seems possible to find similarities and parallels between the allegorical approach in this poetry and the tradition of bird treatises in Persian literature. The poetry of Shakespeare, focusing on the unity of existence, the merging of lover and beloved, and the manifestation and attraction of these two in a unified form, as well as the revival and vitality emerging from death, can be traced in the traditions of Arabic and Persian literature within the framework of the genre of mystical writings. Manteq al-Tayr (The Conference of the Birds) is considered one of the prominent examples of this genre.
In the second part of Shakespeare's poetry, the phoenix and the turtle, being in love to the extent that they are not separate, and merging into one another, reach immortality. This concept may be associated with the pursuit of absolute truth in Islamic tradition. Indeed, what brings Shakespeare's poetry close to Persian allegorical treatises in terms of content is the unity in duality, the selfsameness in dynamism, and unity beyond essence and substance, ultimately the unity in multiplicity.
However, a fundamental difference is observed in Shakespeare's poetry compared to Persian bird treatises in literary tradition. In the Iranian tradition, most treatises involve a detailed explanation and narration of the journey and conduct of birds on the path to reaching the truth, presented through allegorical language and symbolism. These treatises do not make any reference to the mystical union of the lover birds with the original beloved (Simurgh). In fact, if there is any mention of this mystical union, there is no report of it happening. In contrast, in Shakespeare's poetry, the description of this union and the conscious demise of the lover into the beloved, their becoming one, and the intentional death and rebirth are explicit. In essence, where Persian bird treatises conclude, Shakespeare's poetry begins.
Despite these differences, the role of intellect in Shakespeare's poetry contrasts with the Persian literary tradition. In Iranian tradition, intellect is often equated with what is referred to in Islamic tradition as ‘wisdom’ (Aql). Here, intellect stands against love, reminiscent of the familiar conflict between reason and love present in both traditions. In Shakespeare's poetry, as in the Persian literary tradition, it is intellect that remains astonished when faced with the unity between lover and beloved, and the fact that, despite the distance between them, they merge like a single soul.
Furthermore, the role of the phoenix in Shakespeare's poetry and the conscious self-annihilation in the beloved Simurgh in Persian bird treatises, particularly in Attar's Manteq al-Tayr, are similar. The Simurgh (the thirty birds), in the presence of the Simurgh, still perceives itself as a separate entity, as they have not yet transcended the concepts of ‘we’ and ‘he/she’. However, as they go beyond these distinctions and merge into the Simurgh, who is the absolute truth, they themselves become the Simurgh and attain immortality. In essence, both the phoenix and the turtle, through mutual annihilation, achieve continuity and endurance. This kind of dying is itself a form of life, evident in the fact that from the ashes of the phoenix, a phoenix chick emerges.
The idea that seeing Simurgh in the ‘mirror’ of Simurgh's beauty and seeing the turtle in the eyes of the phoenix raises the issue of ‘representation’, a fascinating topic in philosophy and art that requires further exploration. This notion is particularly relevant to discussions of representation in both traditions, presenting an intriguing area for further inquiry.
Results
The most significant commonality lies in the fact that both the phoenix and the turtle, as well as the Simurgh, must undergo death and annihilation to attain continuity and endurance. The phoenix, by gazing into the mirror that holds the essence of the sun, dissolves into the Simurgh, and the turtle, through the fiery eyes of the phoenix, which radiate the brilliance of the sun, becomes one with the phoenix. Both undergo death to remain alive: the phoenix finds its survival in the Simurgh, and the turtle and the phoenix witness their continuity in the young phoenix.
Therefore, it can be summarized that what the phoenix achieves in Attar's poetic system ultimately corresponds to the unity of existence in Islamic mysticism. On the other hand, what the phoenix and the turtle attain aligns with Platonic love and harmony. Both outcomes are intricately connected to the theme of love, unity, and the transcendence of individual existence through the process of death and rebirth. The journey of these mythical creatures, whether in Persian or Shakespearean poetry, serves as a metaphorical exploration of profound spiritual concepts and universal truths.