Document Type : علمی- پژوهشی
Author
Associate Professor of Persian Language and Literature, University of Tabriz, ,Iran
Abstract
Belief in the originality of "firm" or "meaning" is one of the important subjects in the world of rhetoric and our literary tradition. Should we know the importance of the formation of works of art from the Form or Form or from the Meaning (content)? which has made a long struggle between the supporters of these two approaches.
This endless conflict during the time of Safaviyeh namely the peak and splendor of the literary criticism and stylistics with the attention and the deep knowledge of literary critics is being surprisingly continued. Besides in the Hindi style poem which has also been the most important field of rhetorical subjects and criticism and stylistics, in addition to many other important and new literary subjects, the attention to the originality of form or meaning is glaringly displayed. If in the poems of Saeb, the most rhetorical and fluent poet of Hindi Style, the subjects like:" pure form", "unfamiliar form", " polishing form", " new meaning", " delicate meaning", "strange meaning", "florid meaning", using form and meaning jointly, are seen frequently.
Highlights
An Attitude to the conception of "Form" and "Meaning" in
Indian Style
(with an emphasis on Sa’eb poems)
Mohammad Khakpour
Persian Department, University of Tabriz
Abstract
Belief in the originality of "form" or "meaning" is one of the important subjects in the world of rhetoric and our literary tradition. That we should give prominence to form or meaning in the formation of works of art has cultivated a long-standing argument between the supporters of these two approaches. This endless conflict is being surprisingly continued during the time of Safavids, i.e. the peak and splendor of the literary criticism and stylistics with the attention and the deep knowledge of literary critics. Besides in the Hindi style poem which has also been the most important field of rhetorical subjects and criticism and stylistics, in addition to many other important and new literary subjects, the attention to the originality of Form or Meaning is glaringly displayed. If the subjects like "pure form", "unfamiliar form", "polishing form", "new meaning", "delicate meaning", "strange meaning", "florid meaning", “joint use form and meaning” are frequently seen in the poems of Sa’eb, the most rhetorical and fluent poet of Hindi style, in addition to the importance of the topic for the poet, we should not neglect his thematisation and making complex and surprising relations with these concepts. This research, beside dealing with a history of the discussion of originality of form and meaning, is an analysis of Saeb’s triple approach in this field which is not free of making unfamiliar and delicate themes.
Key words: Saeb Tabrizi, Indian style, Form, Meaning, Thematization, Relations of Rese
Introduction
The background of this subject comes back to the series of complicated rhetoric topics among the primary Islamic erudites about the miracle of The Holy Quran from the perspective of Meaning or words (Form). These chained series of topics after some time will affect the field of literature in addition to rhetoric and will change into the most common ways of studying literary works. Because there were no unity and sufficient ideas about this important subject in any period, we inevitably face with many contradictory and extraordinary viewpoints in evaluating criterion of literary works. Among all these different ideas everyone questions if the form and its mixture and compilation give identity to the literary art works or the hidden meaning in the form gives distinction to the discourse. Or in the study of aesthetics criterion, the form and content have the same value and cannot be separated. Some old fans of literary and rhetoric give priority to the Form. The poets and writers, like rhetoric erudite, pay attention to goodness, consistency and firmness of word more than meaning. But they never deny the meaning like Structuralists and Formalists. In other words, what is of importance for literature scholars in every literary period from Roudaki to Nima and their followers is that the literary work should reveal its literal content and after being decorated with artistic functions should be adorned with meaning and content.
Because Sufism teaching and courses are based on meaning and semantics and their targets rotates on the center of meaning and the truth, they should certainly pay attention to the meaning in theirs ideas. The difference has been extensively mentioned on the originality of Form and Meaning that means traditional controversy in Islamic countries in 19th century of Europe. And thematic school or matter, and the school of Form existed among those differences. In sum, the discussion was that if the value of literary work is because of its content or the form and this is the most fundamental characteristic of literary works or the Form and Meaning have equal value?
Research Background
Considering the high importance of “Form (word)” and “Meaning” in literary creations, researchers have compiled several documents with the content of existence or nonexistence of a logical relation between these two notions (Form and Meaning) from the farthest days to the present. We have cited some examples in the paper. In the contemporary period, many papers have been written with the same approach, the most important of which are: the paper of “Relation between Form (word) and Meaning in the structure of rhythmic order in Holy Quran (in Qayyem book magazine, fall and winter 2017, Nº 17), has been written by Abolfazl Khoshmanesh. We can find many valuable discussions in this case at the Journal of Literary Criticism and Stylistic Research (summer 2011, Nº 4).
The Form and Meaning in the Indian style
Among the poets of Indian style, both Form and Meaning like many other subjects of literary criticism have been the reason of creating many themes (contents). Talking about form and meaning has been mostly the center of attention of poets and critics of Indian style that can be called one of the motifs of Indian style. From the contradiction of the ideas of Indian Style poets encountering form and meaning we can find out one of the most important particularities of their poem that is thematization. According to the theme, they sometimes talk about the union of form and meaning, and sometimes about priority of meaning over form and preference of form over meaning.
In Saeb’s thematic processing, Form and Meaning show themselves by different ways as a highly frequent motif and if somebody doesn’t know the high reputation of theme in Indian style poem, he probably cannot find a convincing reason for this matter. Apart from thematic study, lack of systematic thought system we find Saeb with different and contradictory ideas about a single subject like Form and Meaning. In Saeb’s Divan, Form and Meaning like other literary subjects brought the other themes into existence. But it can never be certainly said that the preference is with the form or matter, or both have equal value in his ideas. Lots of inconsistency and contradiction seen in Saeb’s point of view about this field is not visible in other studies of rhetorical topics, stylistic and literary criticism.
Conclusion
In Safavid period, alongside prosperity in literary criticism and Stylistic, in the Indian subcontinent, this ancient argument between Form and Meaning continues with the critics’ attention. Also Indian style poets, especially Saeb, express their views on this matter because of its high importance. Thematization and other requirements of Indian style give Saeb three completely opposite views.
References
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- Djordjani, Abd-al-Ghaher, Dalael Ejaz fel Quran, translated by Seyyed-Mohammad Radmanesh, Astan Ghods Razavi Publications.
- Khane Arezou, Seradhaddin Ali, Tanbihol-Ghafelin, edited and annoted by Mohammad Akram, Pakistan, Branch af Panjab University, 1981.
- Shafiiyieh Kadkani, Mohammad Reza, Rastakhize- Kalamat, First Edition, Tehran Sokhan Publication, 2012.
- Saeb Tabrizi, Mirza Mohammad Ali, The Divan of Saeb, Vol. 6, edited by Mohammad Ghahraman, Third Edition, Tehran, Elmi-Farhanghi Publications, 1996.
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