FWP:
Here's a brilliant example of what I call 'A,B' construction. The two lines are not only grammatically but also semantically independent. How are we to connect them? As so often, we have to decide for ourselves. Here are some of the possibilities:
=A and B are two descriptions of the same situation: When it comes to wine-drinking the speaker is a second Jamshid; his wine-drinking will involve a second Cup of Jamshid.
=A causes B: Because in this age the speaker is the epitome or source of wine-drinking, as a result of his prowess the Cup of Jamshid can be expected to reappear in the world.
=B causes A: Because the time has again come for the Cup of Jamshid to reappear in the world, the responsibility for wine-drinking has been allotted to a superior drinker like the speaker.
=A is a fact, and B is a reflection about it: In this age the speaker is the epitome or source of wine-drinking, and that's a heavy responsibility; at such a time, the Cup of Jamshid really ought to return to the world to help him.
=B is a fact, and A is a reflection about it: The time has come once again for the Cup of Jamshid to reappear in the world, and as part of the process of preparation for that event, responsibility for wine-drinking was allotted to a superior drinker like the speaker.
I've exclaimed so often over the artistry involved in creating such effects, and the radical unresolvability of them, so that the mind can never extricate itself from the endless loop of further possibilities-- by now, dear reader, you probably don't want to hear it all again. Suffice it to say that here we have five poems (or more, depending on the reader's inventiveness), all emerging from two little lines. It's not for nothing that this ghazal has the refrain of nikle !
The word daur in itself, with its meanings of both 'era, age' (the 'going-round' of the circling heavens) and the 'going-round' of the wine-glasses-- along with 'dominion' and further possibilities as well, as in the definition above-- is a true marvel of affinity. I thank Joel Lee (who insists on sharing the credit with other students in the class, April 2009) for pointing out the delights of this term.
The second line also has some excellent, enjoyable sound
effects; just say it aloud and savor the bouncy, crisp 'j' sounds in jo
jahaa;N me;N jaam-e jam .
Nazm:
Many confused stories about the Cup of Jamshid are well-known among the poets: that in it was a vision of the whole world; and in it were letters/marks [;xu:tuu:t]; and that Jamshid was the first inventor of wine and cup. But all these things are entirely erroneous: neither has Firdausi mentioned them, nor has Tabari. And these two books are the source of everything about the history of the kings of Persia. (250)
== Nazm page 250