Contemporary Poetry of Iran
Behnoosh Rahimi harsini; Ali Heydari
Abstract
AbstractHafez was bold enough to repeat the meaning (not the words) in the lines ofhis sonnets. His use of synonymous words and phrases is evidence of this fact.Hafez is unique in paying attention to and employing the subtle differencesbetween words which have similar meanings. He not only pays attention ...
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AbstractHafez was bold enough to repeat the meaning (not the words) in the lines ofhis sonnets. His use of synonymous words and phrases is evidence of this fact.Hafez is unique in paying attention to and employing the subtle differencesbetween words which have similar meanings. He not only pays attention tothe synonymous words but also takes account of the opposite meanings ofsuch keywords as synonym; he substitutes apparently synonymous words anduses each word in the appropriate context of words and phrases in the linescomposed. He does not use the similar concepts in the form of a stretch ofwords coming in a sequence. Instead, he substitutes the second word in aseparate sentence with the first word. This is his unique way of creating newmeanings. The arrangement of synonymous words, attending to the subtledifferences between words and their use in appropriate contexts have givenHafez a special ability to create new meanings. This technique has also led tonew paradoxes and sweet scoffing. By so doing, he ascends to the figurativemeaning of the language. This happens in 5% of Hafez’ lines seeking newstructures and meanings.Keywords: Synonym; Substitution; Meaning-creation; Sonnet; Haez.20 Persian Language and Literature, Vol. 71, Issue 238, Fall & Winter 2018- 2019In total, in the lyrics of Hafez, that is 4193 verses, around 214 verseswith synonyms words or phrases have been used. This numberconstitutes about 5% of his verses. Hafez has considered ways to createsynonymous concepts; for example, he makes sentences, phrases, orsynonymic combinations. Hafez knows that each word has differentsemantic components. Since no two terms are, in all their meanings,mutually conflicting or synonymous, placing synonymous or opposingcomponents creates conflict or synonymy between the words. Bycontrasting synonymous or opposite components, it creates a conflict orsynonymy among words. Hafez has a particular technique in the use ofsynonymous vocabulary. He does not bring the synonymous wordstogether, but he replaces one word with another one in two independentsentences. This makes it possible, in addition, to repeat part of themeaning of a synonym, and the second term also maintains its semanticindependence. This leads to the repetition of a part of the meaning ofthe first word, and the second term also maintains its semanticautonomy. It also shows other dimensions of the meaning of the word.This increases the meaning of the verse. This method gives power toHafiz to create new and multi-lateral meanings. In addition, he alsorecognizes the integrity of a word with semantic and grammaticalcapabilities. In addition, Hafez is familiar with methods for creating asemantic relationship among the words. Hafez, through his close look,sees the hidden virtual relationships among vocabularies, and bysubstituting these words, he brings them together in that part of meaningand relationship. Another point is Hafez's attention to meaningdifference in vocabularies in different contexts. This awareness gavehim the power to even identify conflicting vocabulary (water and fire)in allusion phrases (water of wreckage and fire of the tavern).Sometimes Hafez, in order to create a synonymy between concepts,uses the semantic components of a term in a descriptive phrase orsentence, and he replaces that descriptive phrase or sentence with thatterm. Of course, these descriptive phrases do not always refer to the truemeaning of the word. Sometimes these descriptive phrases signify theallusive meaning of the word. This method is equivalent to descriptivesemantics which linguists interpret as semantic descriptive or analytic.The last point is that Hafez, for the sole purpose of interpreting theSubstituting Synonymous Vocabulary in Hafez's Sonnets 21vocabulary, does not use synonymous concepts; but, using thesynonymous concepts substitution method, he uses the word andmeaning to serve rhetorical performances in his verses. We refer to anumber of artistic functions of this method:1. Creating paradox and wonder in the meaning of the verse.2. In synonymizing vocabulary, he considers the differentsemantic functions of words. And by replacing the vocabulary,in addition to the common meaning, he also uses differentmeanings. This adds up to the scope of the meaning of verse3. Sometimes he substitute two-dimensional vocabulary and inaddition to syntax, also creates ambiguity. In Hafez's verses,about 28 percent of synonyms are also ambiguous.4. The vocabulary also replaces each other with different semanticdomains.5. Sometimes, he replaces descriptive combinations and phraseswith vocabulary and phrases for synonyms.6. Hafez, in addition to creating synonyms, also considers thephonetic proportions, and the increase of verse music; hence, inthe choice of vocabulary, he attends to verbal proportions withother vocabulary.7. The most important point to be considered is proportions. Thismeans that Hafez has a comprehensive understanding of words;and knows semantic functions of the word and knows minordifferences in synonyms; he knows what a low or high meaninga word has or for which context it is more suitable.The abundance of synonymous meanings in Hafez's sonnets Title The number of lines Percentage Synonym 167 78% ambiguity andsynonyms 47 22% Total 214 100%
