Metacultural Commonality in East and West

Abstract

The metacultural values provide the foundation of commonality for Eastern and Western civilizations. The primary value is ‘love’. The feelings and emotions of love with a description of realities from life are given in Zehr e Ishq. Nawab Mirza Shauq's Masnavi Zehr e Ishq is a beautiful blend of fiction, romance, reality and autobiography. The autobiographical tales told in the form of poetry have been written by Meer, Sauda, and Momin but the poetry of these great poets lacks the power of that fictional and courageous utterance found in Mirza Shauq's poetry. The most famous Masnavi of Nawab Mirza Shauq Lakhnavi Zehr e Ishq was written during 1855 to 1862. He is unmatchable in bringing simplicity and pragmatism in Urdu literature. His Masnavi Zehr e Ishq is an embodiment of a separate identity, individuality, unity, and artistic expression in the history of Masnavi writing. In this Masnavi, a woman's psyche has been represented in the light of social and cultural factors of Shauq’s era. Zehr e Ishq does not contain mystical secrets, nor does it address the philosophical aspects; rather it describes an ordinary incident in the most beautiful way. The characteristics of emotional empathy, perfect characterization, psychological representation and realism have rendered it immortal in Urdu literature. There is an analogy in Eastern and Western literature and diversity. The parallel comparison brings an end to the prejudice, stasis, and the conservativeness in literature and critique. There are numerous literary and technical qualities in Masnavi Zehr e Ishq which enable it to be included not only in Urdu literature but also in the World's best love poetry.