Rumi at the age of thirty-seven meets Shams Tabrizi (the sun of Tabriz) "a weird figure wrapped in coarse black felt, who flits across the stage for a moment and disappears tragically enough." Shams has variously been described as: "being extremely ugly"; "a most disgusting cynic;" and having an "exceedingly aggressive and domineering manner." Jalaluddin, who until then had no interest or likin…