Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1 Ph.D. Candidate in Persian Language and Literature, Faculity of Literat Humanities, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz, Iran
2 Professor of Persian Language and Literature, Faculity of Literature Humanities, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz, Iran
Abstract
Based on the approach of cognitive semantics and cognitive rhetoric, the present study analyzes the
artistic and conceptual roles of prepositions in Hafez’s sonnets. The linguistic data is taken from Hafez’s
Sonnets, edited by Dr. Khanlari. In the focus of the analysis, the preposition “ba” and other letters of its
family were examined based on Langaker’s (1987) radial category theory and Lakoff and Johnson’s ⁷
(1980) conceptual metaphor. The results show that Hafez, by utilizing overlapping semantic networks,
takes prepositions from syntactic function to rhetorical and metaphorical levels; In such a way that each
motif plays an independent role in creating the rhythm, allusions, and inner music of the ghazal. A
meaningful relationship between the physical perception of place and the emotional and mystical
experience is reflected through these letters; something that, from the perspective of cognitive linguistics,
is understood as “sensory-emotional co-writing.” In Hafez’s literary system, prepositions do not merely
play a syntactic role, but rather, like the elements of a painting, they create a network of colors and lines
of meaning. What is important from the perspective of cognitive linguistics is the process of embodying
perception: each “with” is a bridge between sense and meaning, and its position is transferred from the
body to the soul. With this function, prepositions in Hafez’s ghazal are the engine of rhetorical
movement, because they cause the re-creation of mystical experience in the form of sensory language.
Keywords
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