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In fact, the entire seventeenth-century poem is not reprinted in the novel, since Babi can only remember two lines: “One could not count the moons that shimmer on her roofs, / Or the thousand splendid suns that hide behind her walls.” The poem is an ode to Kabul, and Babi first recites it just before his death, when he is preparing to leave the city. The second time we hear it is when Laila recalls these lines as she is moving back to Kabul from Murree, Pakistan at the end of the novel. The poem represents the powerful allure of Kabul, which is Laila’s home and becomes a home for Mariam, especially once she befriends Laila. Its description of Kabul’s beauty can be seen as achingly ironic, since for much of the novel Kabul is hardly splendid but instead a bombed-out bloody shell; but the poem also evokes the “real” Kabul that remains beneath the destruction. Finally, the poem underlines the importance Babi places on literary and cultural heritage, and the necessity for Laila—as for women in general—to be educated and to be able to transmit this heritage.
Saib-e-Tabrizi’s Poem Quotes in A Thousand Splendid Suns
The A Thousand Splendid Suns quotes below all refer to the symbol of Saib-e-Tabrizi’s Poem. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Part II: Chapter 26 Quotes
All day, this poem about Kabul has been bouncing around in my head. Saib-e-Tabrizi wrote it back in the seventeenth century, I think. I used to known the whole poem, but all I can remember now is two lines:
“One could not count the moons that shimmer on her roofs,
Or the thousand splendid suns that hide behind her walls.’”
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
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Explanation and Analysis:
As Babi is mourning what has become of the country that he loves so much, he confides in Laila and shares something that consoles him in times of difficulty: a poem. This classic work from the seventeenth century is what gives the novel its title. The poem itself is beautiful, but its significance for Babi lies also in the image of Afghanistan that the work calls up, an image that shares nothing with the violent destructiveness that now seems to characterize Kabul and the nation at large. These two lines in particular suggest that suffering is not the only thing Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. E
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Saib-e-Tabrizi’s Poem Symbol Timeline in A Thousand Splendid Suns
The timeline below shows where the symbol Saib-e-Tabrizi’s Poem appears in A Thousand Splendid Suns. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Part II: Chapter 26
...leaving Kabul, where he’s lived, studied, and taught. He recites two lines of a seventeenth-century poem by Saib-e-Tabrizi , which talks about Kabul as the city where a “thousand splendid suns” hide behind...
(full context)
Part IV: Chapter 50
