IN THE MARGIN

Dīvān-i Hilālī

Writing turned sideways

Looking at the page

Vertical writing runs along the left edge of the verse, while a line near the top is heavily overwritten.

The sideways note occupies a narrow strip beside the poem. Together with the overwritten line, it invites attention to the manuscript as a worked-on page. Whether the note supplies a variant, correction, or comment remains a question for transcription.

A question for the reader

What does the note add to the passage beside it—an explanation, a correction, or another reading? Its placement invites that question; establishing its meaning requires a careful transcription.

Source

Digital reproduction. Source file: Nuskhah-i Divān-i Hilālī.pdf; PDF page 158 (scan index, not a folio number).

The description concerns the visible arrangement of writing. The notes’ authorship, date, and relationship to the main text have not been established.

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