The Mystical Element of Human Love in Leigh Hunt’s Abou Ben Adhem-An Analysis

Abstract

This paper is a textual analysis of the poem Abou Ben Adhem. The critics have different dimensions of the poem to deal with while the mystical element of Human Love is the meeting point of thought for them all. The essence of the poem revolves around the triangle of Love-Lover and Beloved resulting in the two directions of Divine Love and Human Love. This rendezvous is the mystical truth manifesting love. The mystic thought and religious belief have been woven together under the aegis of Love and Reason. The art of versification in combination of narrative and lyrical vigour makes it clear that love is the utmost human and divine impulse which needs to be covered with images of beatitude and the service of mankind hidden or visible The assumption that God likes to be loved, of course, is true but what is truer is yet to be known. Lovers of God for the supreme merger and annihilation consumed their lives undergoing the bitter tests of sacrifice, it is still something missing what God wants man to pass through and get at Him.This paper explores the mystical and humanistic dimensions of Leigh Hunt’s “Abou Ben Adhem”. The poem presents an ideal of spiritual enlightenment rooted in love for humanity rather than in ritualistic devotion. Hunt blends Romantic spirituality with Sufi mysticism, emphasizing the universality of divine love and moral compassion as the truest forms of faith.

Key words: Human Love - Divine Love - Beatitude - Sobriety – Intoxication.