Poetry, to judge by our few remaining examples, was fairly simple in composition since the music was there to help deliver its emotional impact. It was not long, however, before poetry achieved a totally separate existence from music and its own tradition was established with a repertory of conventional themes, motifs, and imagery. Since the free play of imagination was somewhat limited by the restraints of this tradition, embellishment and decoration became a primary means of exhibiting literary dexterity and of impressing one's audience. Stylistic mastery and rhetorical craftsmanship gradually became a hallmark of good writing. Even the writers of informative prose who mastered the craft were considered practitioners of literary art.
Embellishments enjoy a wide scope and variety in Persian letters.
Embellishment also results, though less frequently, from playing on the shape of the letters or the presence or absence of dots. And finally, ornament may be brought to bear on the metaphorical plane by means of statements, similes, and tropes that enhance and elaborate the effect of the basic metaphor or expression. In the hands of masters like Hafez, who use ornament aptly and with discretion, poems become contrapunctal designs in which the substance and ornament interact with considerable aesthetic effect. A fourth feature of Persian literary tradition is the conventionality of its themes and imagery. These forms and their corresponding genres have remained fairly constant for nearly a thousand years.