Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

• Gholamreza Boloori ¹
• Rooh Allah Nasiri ²

¹ PhD student, Department of Arabic Language and Literature, University of Isfahan

² أستاذ مشارک فی قسم اللغة العربیة وآدابها

Abstract

Abstract



This study presents an in-depth comparative analysis of Mohammad Khaghani Esfahani's significant work "Reason and Love," examining its relationship with the aesthetic principles of the Parnassian school through an analytical-comparative approach. The research explores the dynamic interplay between form and content in this prominent piece of contemporary Persian literature, employing contemporary literary theories and scientific methodology to reveal its distinctive characteristics.

The investigation begins with a meticulous examination of the masnavi's formal and structural elements, demonstrating the poet's mastery of classical masnavi form, precise metrical composition using the ramal musaddas mahzuf meter, sophisticated rhyme schemes, and intricate rhetorical devices. The work's unique bilingual presentation (Persian-Arabic) and coherent dramatic structure across five principal acts showcase its alignment with Parnassian standards of formal perfection and material aesthetics. However, at deeper conceptual levels, the study reveals fundamental divergences from core Parnassian principles, as Khaghani Esfahani consciously employs artistic form to serve profound mystical, philosophical, and religious themes rather than adhering to the "art for art's sake" doctrine.

Through its innovative transformation of form into a vehicle for content expression, the masnavi establishes a dramatic dialogic structure that facilitates fundamental ontological and epistemological inquiry, creating an intellectual-spiritual space that transcends mere plastic description. The poet's active narrative presence as both artist and concerned intellectual introduces an existential-personal dimension that distinguishes the work from Parnassian objectivity. Situated within the Persian literary tradition, "Reason and Love" extends the didactic-mystical masnavi heritage while synthesizing tradition with innovation, ultimately presenting a unique model of reason-love unity

Keywords

• : Mohammad Khaqani Isfahani
• Masnavi of Reason and Love
• Parnassian School
• form and content
• didactic-mystical literature

Main Subjects

• الادب المقارن