Poetry was essential to the emotional and spiritual experience of medieval Andalusians, or members of the middle age Islamo-Iberian society of al-Andalus. The writing of Andalusian poets from the end of the first millennium would eventually influence that of European lyrical poets, or troubadours. The emotional vulgarity of Andalusian poems introduced sincere, informal poetry into the mainstream European tradition. al-Andalus offers unique perspectives on the End of the Day, or the space created when the sun goes down. 

The end of the day is romantic. Many Andalusian love poems take the setting of an evening party in a botanical courtyard, where darkness and recreational attitudes allow for transgressive pursuits of sex. In these poems, nightfall suggests social disorder; the sun sets, the lights go out, and anything goes. In the 21st century, we return home to private spaces with our partners or spouses, or enter clubs to meet lovers under the obscurity of neon lights. Love flourishes at the end of the day.