THE FUNCTIONS OF ASTIONYMS IN THE THEMATIC AND COMPOSITIONAL STRUCTURE OF THE PERSIAN GHAZAL OF THE XIII–XVII CENTURIES

Abstract

It is for the first time in the Russian Iranian studies that the problem of using astionyms in the Persian ghazal of the period, comprising five centuries – from XIII till XVII, is being under consideration. The object of the study is represented by the cycles of ghazals of such Persian poets as Saadi Shirazi, Hafiz Shirazi, Nimatullah Vali, Kamal Khujandi, Abd ar-Rahman Jami, Saib Tabrizi and Sayyido Nasafi. These cycles of poems are formed on the basis of presence of an astionym in the end of a ghazal. The goal of the paper is to reveal functions of astionyms in the thematic composition of the ghazals, which are included in such cycles. While analyzing the poems, the author comes to the conclusion, that astionyms may serve as a means of marking the end of a ghazal. Besides, using astionyms, Persian poets actualize traditional motifs, make necessary changes to them and thus compose new ones, and that contributes to the transformation of the canon of the Persian poetry in the era of the traditional artistic consciousness. The author proposes to analyze the use of toponyms in all generic forms of the Persian poetry and hypothesizes that they are a universal means of marking the beginning and the end of poems.