Lyrical and Didactic Literature
Maryam Mosharrafolmolk
Abstract
Understanding the Element of Water and Its signs in Sanaʾi’s Seyr al-Ebâd[1]One of the prominent characteristics of literary knowledge is to pay attention to the concept of sign. If we accept Saussure’s view that language is an order of signs that is based on an interconnected ...
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Understanding the Element of Water and Its signs in Sanaʾi’s Seyr al-Ebâd[1]One of the prominent characteristics of literary knowledge is to pay attention to the concept of sign. If we accept Saussure’s view that language is an order of signs that is based on an interconnected system of elements and relationships, we may get close to understand the systemic view of signs. In this view, codes and signs of language are not eternal and independent concepts that represent an external reality, but are “signs” that take their meaning only from the text.On the other hand, understanding each sign in the text is only possible if the reader is also familiar with the rules and conventions governing the text, because as Saussure and Jacobsen have shown, signs do not emerge only on the basis of a single text, but also on the basis of the literary genre which they are dependent to, and knowing the rules of a genre would not be possible except by evaluating the different ways that individual speakers apply in using signs. From this point of view, knowing the codes and textual signs of individual speakers or writers, becomes important because it not only opens the way in understanding individual literary works, rather, it is an effective and even necessary step in defining the conventions and rules governing a certain genre.Now, one wonder, if it is possible to classify and examine the signs and symbols used in a certain field in Persian classical texts, based on the common ground between them?In this research, I tried to survey the allegorical signs and codes which refer to the vital elements: “The essence of water” and the “essence of air” in the symbolic and allegorical Maθnavi “Seyr al-Ebâd” by Sanâʾi Qaznavi.It is obvious that by “code” in this article, I mean the semiotic concept, which is different from old rhetorical concept that can be seen in the books of “Maʾâni and Bayân”. Here we are seeking to identify and understand the specific signs that Sanâʾi used in his mystical language.An Allegorical creature in Maθnavi “Seyr al-Ebâd”Sanâʾi has used a number of animals in allegorical meanings in his Seyr al-Ebâd. Animals are usually a sign of moral imperfections and weakness of the soul. Here, marine animals have a special place. Marine animals such as oyster, turtle, alligator, crab, fish and whale indicate the qualities of the essence of water: they may be a sign of cold and wet nature and represent the qualities of “phlegm” among the four Humoral (Axlât). Laziness, laxity and weakness are attributes that these animals symbolically embody. Allegorical creature for Nature of Water By creating composite faces, Sanâʾi has created imaginary animals that represent the human lower soul or Nafs e Bahimi. In this concern, he has created an imaginary whale in the “Essence of Air”, an episode of his longish poem. He also talks about a creature with the head of a dragon and the tail of a fish and mentions attributes for these creatures that have a figurative and allegorical aspect. In creating this world of signs and these illusory creatures, Sanâʾi has used a set of signs that are related to the functioning of the soul in a combined way.To understand the more complex meanings of imaginary figures, it is necessary to pay attention to the context of the text and consider the verses together in the context of the poem. In this case, the components of imaginary figures create an interwoven web of connected signs that one cannot be understood without the other, i.e. they should not be viewed partial and separated: a common mistake by previous commentators. Any explanation is acceptable if it can create harmony between all the parts of the symbolical context, not if it is verified in one case and not in the rest.In describing the powers of the moon, Sanâʾi talks about the existence of “dragon head and fish tail creature”. With the help of old philosophical works, we understand that this weird creature refers to moon’s cold and humid nature, and at the same time, it signifies the heat-creating properties of the moon, which guarantee the influence of the moon’s powers in the prosperity of life. These properties are more powerful in the first half of the lunar month.Therefore, Sanâʾi created a mixed and illusory creature of water and fire that brought together these heterogeneities and opposite qualities. Allegorical creature for Nature of AirIn the episode “Properties of Air Element”, Sanâʾi created a crocodile whose head is towards water and whose tail is towards fire. The crocodile is a sign of the air element in nature. At the same time, it indicates the power of the Lust (Arabic: Hawa’) in lower soul. This is a fundamental power of soul, on which continuity of life is dependent on, and Sanâʾi’s goal is to make the reader aware of its dangers in an allegorical language.This paper is only one step in the way of knowing the significant philosophical signs in the intellectual world of Sanâʾi, and it will certainly not be the last one.Undoubtedly, choosing signs that belong to the same or opposite thematic areas can help us to draw the network of these signs. Drawing the map of contrasts and similarities of the signs, ultimately leads us to understand the meaning of them. ReferencesBressler, Charles E., (2011). Literary Criticism (Fifth Edition). Longman.Culler, J., (2001). The Pursuit of Signs (Second Edition). Routledge.-------, (1973). Structuralist Poetics. Routledge.Damiri, K., (1395). Xavâs al- hayavân. tr. Xâje Mohammad Taqi Tabrizi. ed. F. Mehri. 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Divâne Sanâʾi. ed. M. Mosaffâ. Tehran: Zavvâr.Sanâʾi Qaznavi, Ab al-Majd Majdud ibn Âdam, (1396). Seyr al-ebâd elâ al-Maʾâd. ed. M. Ranjbar. Tehran: Mowlâ.Tafazzoli, A., (1354). Minuye xerad. Tehran: Bonyâde farhange Iran.Tusi, Mohammad ibn Mahmud ibn Ahmad, (1382). Ajâyeb al-Maxluqât. ed. M. Sotude. Tehran: Elmi Farhangi. [1] Maryam Mošarraf: Associate Professor of Persian Language and Literature, Šahid Behešti University.
