Mysticism & Poetry A Hermeneutical Reading of the Poems of AMIR HAMZAH

• Main Author: Md. Salleh Yaapar (Author)
• Format: Book
• Published: Kuala Lumpur Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka 1995
• Subjects: Hamzah, Amir > Tengku > 1911-1946 > Authorship; Indonesian poetry > Criticism and interpretation; Mysticism and poetry
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 This book is a critical interpretation and appraisal of the poems of the celeberated Indonesian poet Amir Hamzah as expressed in Buah Rindu (Fruits of Longing, Solitude, 1937) and Nyanyi Sunyi (Songs of Solitude, 1937). Its primary aim is to understand fully the literary and religious characteristics of the texts and to evaluate their achievements, thus determining the real stature of the poet. Using the hermeneutical approach, the study is carried out in comprehensive and integral manner, i.e., by interpreting the poems in relation to the poet's biographical, literary and cultural background, as well as to the Oriental poems (The Bhagavad-Gita, the Ruba'iyat of Umar Khayyam, the "Song of Songs" etc.) which Amir Hamzah had beautifully rendered into the Indonesian language. The study reveals that the poems in Nyanyi Sunyi are clearly mystical in nature and are of an ethereal quality. They are informed by various aspects and levels of mystical experiences and insights. At the same time they bear the influences of the Qur'an as well as the writing of celebrated Sufi poets such as Ibn al-Farid, Jalal al-Din Rumi and Hamzah al-Fansuri. In fact, some of the poems in Buah Rindu are also high in quality and deal with mystical love. These poems seem to prefigure those in Nyanyi Sunyi. As for the Oriental poems which Amir Hamzah as translated, they are basically similar to his poems in Nyanyi Sunyi, and they very much reflect his own mystical quest. The book affirms the eminent standing of Amir Hamzah as a poets and his poetry which occupies a signal position in modern Indonesian as well as Malaysian literature.