The writings and conference presentations of Syed Naqi Husain Jafri presented in the volume take up topics in Indian history and society. They deal with a range of themes: ghazal as a form of non-conformist poetry, Hispano-Arabic strains in English poetry, Sufi themes in Awadhi and Hindavi poetry, madrasa education and the Hindi-Urdu controversy. Characterised by a rare depth of analysis, they also take up other subjects like American poetry in the present age, image of the Orient in Shakespeare’s works and need for a postcolonialist literary theory. They study individual works as well, providing interpretations of works including Drayton’s The Moone-Calfe (1627) and The Muses Elyzium (1630) and Qurratulain Hyder’s My Temples, Too, and of Albee’s vision of life in his plays.