Modern approaches to the translation of classical Persian lyric grapple with problems that relate not only to the issue of the semantic meaning of a given poem, but also to the overall functions of this specific literary genre within its historical and socio-anthropological contexts. While the existence of an underlying literary critique inhabits the practice of translating all poetic texts from the past, the case of the Persian lyric tradition known as ghazal poetry is particularly significant. The practice of translating premodern ghazals entails theoretical problems that relate to the very nature of lyric and to the relationship between gender and sexuality, spirituality, and performativity. This paper will tackle the practice of translating ghazals from the perspective of the ambiguity of the nature of desire as a characterizing feature of this genre both in its historical evolution and in the implied critical approaches that Anglophone, Italian, and French scholars have adopted when exploring this literary heritage through their own languages. The analyses will focus mainly on the renowned (and widely translated) 13th–14th century C.E. poets Sa‘di, Rumi, and Hafez, with peripheral incursions in the less-known translations of poets such as Sanā’i (11th–12th c. C.E), ‘Erāqi (13th c. C.E.), Jāmi (15th century C.E.), and Mohtasham of Kashan (16th century C.E.).