ABSTRACT
In no other part of the world has sung poetry been more highly valued than in the territories where Iranian civilization has flourished for millennia. The public and private lives of most Iranians include activities during which verses are sung or recited, either by specialists or by most of those who are present. Some types of singing do not allow for instrumental accompaniment; others require it. Verses of the great classical Persian poets-Sa‘dı¯, Mowla¯na¯ Jala¯l al-dı¯n Ru¯mı¯, and Ha¯fez-are performed in a variety of ways and have remained poems that must be heard, remembered, and reproduced orally, not just experienced through silent reading. Each language spoken in Iran has its own genres of sung poetry, some of them oriented toward narrative and philosophical reflection.
