SOAS Research Online

Abstract

I originally intended to do some research on the tendencies in Modern Urdu Literature, but took up Hali on the suggestion of my tutor Dr.T.grahame Bailey, since he is the one figure in the early Islamic Renaissance who represents all its varied aspects. The study of Urdu literature reveals two different and conflicting cultural patterns, which, on account of the absence of better terms, can be called the "Classical" and the "Modern"; The poetry and the prose of Hali mark the advent of the "modern"; they are of the nature of a reaction against classical traditionalism. To understand and appreciate the work of Hali, therefore, it is necessary not only to study the nature of the environment which produced him, but also to examine the root-factors of the classical culture and its ideals against which he led the revolt. The thesis,therefore, proceeds upon these lines, that is to say, an examination of the classic ideals, a rather detailed descriptive account of the Indian Renaissance, followed by a critical study of the mind and art of Hali and his influence on Urdu literature.