Investigation of Gnomic Verses in Sultan Walad Masnavi

Abstract

Gnomic verses are artistic images which can be various angles, may be used in the beginning, middle or the end of the allegory and can analogize abstract notions to sensible ones or vice versa. This research is a study performed via the ‘library-based’ approach and, while pointing to the background of gnomic verses, investigates the Triple Couplet Poetries of Sultan Walad’s, namely Ebteda Nameh, Rabab Nameh and Enteha Nameh, and with respect to the angles, position, and structure of gnomic verses, demonstrate the quality of how this literary adornment is made use of. Results of the study show that (1) in using this artistic symbol, Sultan Walad has more benefited from the double-sided type gnomic verse and analogizes subjective, abstract and mental notions to sensible types. (2) There are times that both hemistiches of a verse are equivalent in meaning to the previous verses and help present the gnomic verse through more than one single verse. (3) Sometimes the bases of the gnomic verse are fictitious, imaginary or legendary. (4) There are times that gnomic verses are depicted in two running inter-related verses. (5) In quite a number of the gnomic verses, one of the bases of the gnomic equative is pretermitted and hidden in the meaning and concept of the verse.