Divine Deviants: The Dialectics of Devotion in the Poetry of Donne and Rūmī

Divine Deviants is a comparative study of the Persian Sufi poet, Jalāl al-Dīn Rūmī (1212-1273), and the English Metaphysical poet, John Donne (1572-1631). By focusing on the two schools of thought to which these poets belong as well as their individual poetic worldviews and styles, this book elucidates the different dimensions of the shared philosophy governing their poetry.
Bridging linguistic, cultural, religious, and philosophical barriers, Divine Deviants carefully illustrates that in the works of both Rūmī and Donne love symbolizes Beatific Vision and Truth. More generally, this book highlights the bonds between religion, mysticism, and literature and thus examines not only the interdependent issues in these disciplines, but also the invisible and yet profound closeness that exists in the representative works of the two literary and religious traditions.