Shared Symbolism in Diverse Cultures

This study examines the migration of symbols from traditional Persian poetry in the writings of Emily Dickinson, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, and Allama Iqbal. These poets, embodying diverse cultural, linguistic, and historical backgrounds, interact with the Persian tradition of mystical and allegorical imagery, such as the beloved, wine, and the soul's journey, to formulate distinctive poetic ideologies. The symbols, derived mostly from the writings of Rumi and Hafiz, are reinterpreted in Dickinson's introspective poetry, Goethe's universal humanism, and Iqbal's metaphysical nationalism, illustrating a dynamic process of cultural translation and creative appropriation. The study employs a comparative literature approach based on intertextual analysis to identify thematic and metaphorical connections. The primary textual analysis examines selected poems by Dickinson, Goethe, and Iqbal in relation to source texts from Persian poetry to discern symbolic continuities and alterations. The approach employs Harold Bloom's concept of ‘anxiety of influence' to analyze each poet's “strong misreading” as a manifestation of creative resistance and recreation. This paper traces the transhistorical trajectory of Persian poetic symbols through three distinct voices, illustrating how common imagery manifests divergent interpretations of selfhood, spirituality, and universal interconnectedness, thereby affirming the persistent influence of Persian mysticism on global poetic traditions.