Classical Persian Literature

Classical Persian Literature

The Eternal Allure of the Beloved in the Expanse of Lyrical Poetry of Persian Literature

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors
Rahman Moshtaghmehr 1
Fariba Azimzadeh Javadi 2
1 Professor of Persian language and literature, Azarbaijan Shahid Madni University, Tabriz - Iran
2 PhD. in Persian Language and Literature, Azarbaijan Shahid Madni University, Tabriz, Iran
10.30465/cpl.2025.10284
Abstract
Abstract
The central theme of the Ghazal is love. To the extent that if this common motif is removed from the structure of the Ghazal, it transforms into a soulless form devoid of an audience. When discussing the Ghazal and lyrical poetry, the lover and the beloved are two inseparable elements. Among these, particularly, the role and presence of the beloved as the main protagonist of the Ghazal is undeniable. The beloved's primary art lies in the ultimate display of allure, charm, and captivating beauty, utilizing all of their inherent capacities. One of these intrinsic capacities of the beloved to influence the lover is their mysterious, eternal power. In this context, the beloved is not that sorceress associated with black, detested, and deadly magic; rather, they are absolute beauty and pure loveliness, whose inherent seductiveness and recourse to enchantment and magic enhance their mysterious appeal. Thus, by showcasing their outward beauties such as eyes, eyebrows, the downy line above the lip, beauty spots, coquetry, and tresses – which are intertwined with enchantment, magical power, and eternal magical elements and acts like illusion, sleep-inducing spells, and silencing spells – the beloved creates a new semantic chain in the realm of literature, gains a stronger hold on the reins of the lover's will, and more powerfully portrays their inherent richness in dominating the lover's being."
Keywords: beloved, magic, witchcraft, curl and amorous glance.

Introduction
Magic, the most ancient form of human beliefs, has been used to exert power or suppress fear and weakness for various purposes and through different methods. In the Avesta and pre-Islamic texts, it primarily refers to black magic. In the expanse of Persian literature as well, magic has been considered an unacceptable and evil phenomenon, often associated with the presence of fairies who, in Zoroastrian literature, are regarded as sorceresses and witches. However, when this very concept becomes an attribute of the beloved, it transforms into a literary element, gains acceptance, and through the poet's imagination and creativity, becomes a manifestation of the beloved's beauty. In the magic attributed to the beloved, not only is its malevolent aspect disregarded, but it is also used as an artistic means to present the inexhaustible source of the beloved's beauty, without which the beloved's artistic appeal would be incomplete.
Materials & Methods
In this research, conducted using a descriptive-analytical and library-based method, by examining the extensive presence of issues related to the beloved's enchantment and magic in the lyrical poetry of Persian literature, the neglected aspects of poetic expression's beauty, utilzing magical elements and acts in the beloved's display – not in the context of evil, but from a new perspective and with an aesthetic approach that greatly enhances the reader's artistic pleasure – have been studied.
Discussion & Result
With a particular power stemming from inherent allure and seductiveness, the beloved seeks to influence the lover's being and bring them under their spiritual dominion. This subtle inrigue, connected to the beloved's outward beauty such as eyes, the downy line above the lip, beauty spots, and tresses, and the movements and states arising from them like coquetry, charm, and graceful demeanor, when combined with elements of enchantment, sorcery, magic, and heir associated aspects, creates a new and exquisite semantic chain. This chain furher highlightsthe wonder of the beloved's ناز (naaz – delicate pride) and دلال (dalaal – coquettishness) and inherent intrigue with greater appeal, showcases the lover's subjugation, and conjures more fantastical images.
In this poetic perspective, the beloved is not only a nimble and powerful enchantress; rather, all their existential beauties, such as eyes, the downy line, beauty spots, lips, and tresses, are linked with a chain of magical acts. It is the beloved who, by resorting to enchantment, sorcery, magic, and magical acts and behaviors like illusion, sleep-inducing spells, silencing spells, and creating restless anxiety ('throwing nails on the fire'), advances with full force and conquers the lover's being. It is with the skillful use of these stratagems and beloved's mischievousness, and by tormenting the lover with display and aloofness, that the beloved reigns supreme in the arena of captivating hearts. Therefore, the beloved's enchantment is not in the service of a demonic function; rather, it aims to fully express the power of the beloved, to enamor, conquer, and subdue the lover's being, to the extent that this function of the beloved reaches its zenith in mystical poems as the supreme beloved.

In reality, by attributing sorcery and enchantment to the beloved, and even describing each of their attractive and alluring features with the qualities of a sorceress and witch, the poet justifies their own powerlessness in the face of the beloved's attractions and beauty. They seek a rational escape to absolve themselves from blame. Not only does the beloved's state of being loved work upon the lover with a force as effective as sorcery and enchantment, but every part of their bewitching totality is another practitioner of magic who will not rest until they have enchanted the lover and brought them down with a power similar to that of magic. In this situation, the poor lover can do nothing but surrender, marvel, and be utterly captivated.
Conclusion
Despite the difference in their linguistic origins, afsun (enchantment), jadu (magic), and sehr (sorcery) are usually used without significant semantic distinction. In the Persian Ghazal, all magical acts such as sehr and jadu, illusion (cheshm-bandi), sleep-inducing spells (khab-bandi), silencing spells (zaban-bandi), and creating restless anxiety (na'l dar atash afkandan), are attributed to the beloved. The difference lies in the fact that in relation to the beloved, this concept has an aesthetic and tasteful aspect. With the magic of their gaze, the sorcery of their coquetry, and the enchantment of their lips, the beloved, while being tempting and seductive, ensnares the lover in the trap of their beauty. Through illusion, sleep-inducing spells, and silencing spells – each a type of act performed by sorcerers and enchanters – the beloved ultimately leaves the lover in utter helplessness and astonishment. This aspect of the beloved's function is not in the form of black magic, which is detested, but rather carries a completely positive connotation and represents the beloved's inherent art in dominating the lover, to which the lover willingly submits. Their complaints and lamentations arise from wonder, not objection. By displaying their latent magical power, the beloved proves their authority as the beloved and, through various methods that exceed the reasonable limit and resemble sorcery, penetrates the lover's heart and takes them captive.
Keywords
beloved
magic
witchcraft
curl and amorous glance
Subjects
Adib Saber Tarmazi (1952), Divan, collected and edited by: Ali Ghavim, Tehran: Khavar bookstore. [in Persian]
Afifi, Rahim (1995), Iranian Mythology and Culture in Pahlavi Writings, Tehran: Toos. [in Persian]
 
Afifi, Rahim (1997), Poetry Dictionary, Tehran: Sorosh bookstore. [in Persian]
 
Al-Hasib, Mohammad ibn Ayyob (1992), Tohfat- al Algharayeb, edited by: Jalal Matini, Tehran: Moein. [in Persian]
 
Amir Khusrow Dehlawi (1982) Completed Works, edited by: Saeed Nafisi, in collaboration with M. Darvish, Tehran: Javidan bookstore. [in Persian]
Amir Khusrow Dehlawi (1983), Khamseh (Five Books), edited by: Amir Ahmad Ashrafi, Tehran: Shaghayegh bookstore. [in Persian]
 
Amir Shahi Sabzevari (1969), Divan, edited by: Saeed Hamidiyan, Tehran: Ibn Sina bookstore. [in Persian]
 
Amouzgar, Zahleh (1993), The myth of Zoroaster's life, Tehran: Cheshmeh & Avishan bookstores. [in Persian]
Attar Nishapuri, Farid al din (2001), Divan, in collaboration with Taghi Tafazzoli, Elmi & Farhanghi bookstore. [in Persian]
 
Attar Nishapuri, Farid al din (2003), The letter of misfortune (Mosibat Nameh), edited by: Mohammad-Reza Shafiei Kadkani, Tehran: Sokhan bookstore. [in Persian]
 
Awhadi Maraghai, Rukn al-Din (2012), Collected Poems, edited by: Saeed Nafisi, Tehran: Sanai bookstore. [in Persian]
Baba Fighani Shirazi (1974), Divan, edited by: A. Soeili Khansari, Tehran: Relative company of Iqbal and Partners. [in Persian]
Bahar, Mehrdad (2005), A Research on Persian Mythology, Tehran: Aghah bookstore. [in Persian]
Burhan-i Qati [in Persian]
Dehkhoda Dictionary [in Persian]
 
Eliade, Mircea (2013), Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy, translated into Persian by: Mohammad Kazem Mohajeri, Tehran: Adyan bookstore. [in Persian]
Eliade, Mircea (2018), Images and Symbols, translated by: Mohammad Kazem Mohajeri, Tehran: Parseh bookstore. [in Persian]
Frazer, James George (2007), The Golden Branch (A Study in Magic and Religion), translated into Persian by Kazem Firoozmand, Tehran: Aghah bookstore. [in Persian]
 
Farnbagh Dadeghi (2006), Bondaheshn, narrator: Mehrdad Bahar, Tehran: Toos bookstore. [in Persian]  
 
Ferdowsi, Abu'l-Qâsem (2004), Shahnameh (The Book of Kings), in collaboration with Jalal Khaleghi Motlagh & Abolfazl Khatibi, Tehran: Center for the Great Islamic Encyclopedia. [in Persian]
 
Foroughi Bastami (1957), Divan, with an introduction by Edward Brown, Reza-Qoli Khan Hedayat & Asd Allah Mirza Ghajar, in collaboration with Hossein Nakhaee, Tehran: Amir Kabir bookstore, [in Persian]  
 
Fotoohi, Mahmood (2010), Image Rhetoric, Tehran: Sokhna bookstore. [in Persian]
Ghaznavi, Seyyed Hasan (1983), Divan, edited by: Asatir bookstore. [in Persian]
 
Gray, William J. (2000), Psychology of Witchcraft, translated into Persian by Rajab Ali Hasebi & Alireza Aghdami Baher, Tehran:  Published by Translators. [in Persian]
 
Grimal, Pierre (2022), Larousse World Mythology, translated into Persian by Mani Salehi Allameh,
Charkh bookstore. [in Persian]
 
Gurgani, Fakhruddin As'ad (2013), Vis and Rāmin, edited by: Mohammad Rowshan, Tehran: Sedaye Moaser bookstore. [in Persian]
 
Ḥāfeẓ-e Shīrāzī, Shams-al-Dīn Moḥammad (2000), Divan, edited by: Rashid Eyvazi, Tehran: Amir
Hazin Lahiji, Mohammad Ali ibn Abi Talib (1999), Divan, edited by: Zabih- Allah Sahebkar, Tehran: Sayeh bookstore. [in Persian]
 
Helâli Jagatâʾi (1989), Divan, edited by Saeed Nafisi, Tehran: Sanai bookstore. [in Persian]
 
Homaei, Jalal al- din (1952), Introduction and Notes to Ibn Sina's Kanuz al-Mu'azzamin, unknown Publication. [in Persian]
 
Humam-i Tabrizi (2015), Divan, edited by: Rashid Eyvazi, Tehran: Persian Academy Publishing.
[in Persian]
 
Ibn Khaldun, Abdu r-Rahman (1990), Al-Muqaddima, translated into Persian: Mohammad Parvin Ghonabadi, Tehran: Elmi va Farhanghi bookstore. [in Persian]
Ibn Yamin  Faryumadi (1984), Divan, edited by: Hossein Qoli Bastani Rad, Tehran: Sanā'ī bookstore. [in Persian]
 
Ions, Veronica (2002), Indian mythology, translated into Persian: M. H. Bajlan Farrokhi, Tehran: Asatir bookstore. [in Persian]
Jamili Yazdi, Aboobakr Motahhr (1967), Farrokhnameh (Encyclopedia of Sciences, Arts and Education), in collaboration with Iraj Afshar. Tehran: Amir Kabir. [in Persian]
 
Jāmī, Abd al-Rahmān (1938), Divan, Elmi bookstore. [in Persian]
 
Jorr, Khalil (1986), Larousse Dictionary, translated into Persian by S. H. Tabibiyan, Tehran: Amir Kabir bookstore. [in Persian]
 
Khāqānī, Afzal al-Dīn Badīl (1996) Divan, edited by: Mir Jalal al-din Kazzazi, Tehran: Markaz bookstore. [in Persian]
 
Kamal Khujandi, Kamal al- din Massoud (1958), Divan, in collaboration with Aziz Dolatabadi, Tehran: Tehran bookstore. [in Persian]
 
Katirayee, Mahmood (1969), From brick to brick, Tehran: Publications of the Institute for Social Studies and Research. [in Persian]
 
Kazzazi, Mir Jalal al-din (2006), Report on the difficulties of the Khaqani's Divan, Tehran: Markaz bookstore. [in Persian]
 
Kazzazi, Mir Jalal al-din (2019), Advice and Connection (Aesthetic and Ideological Report on Twenty Sonnets of Hafez), Tehran: Gooya bookstore. [in Persian]
 
Khaleghi Motlagh, Jalal (2006), Women in Shahnameh, translated by: Ahmad Binazir, Tehran: Morvarid bookstore. [in Persian]
 
Khorasani, Mirza Habib (1982), Divan, in collaboration with Ali Habib, Tehran: Zavvar bookstore. [in Persian]
 
Khwaju Kermani, Abu al- Ata Kamal al-din Mahmoud (1991a), Selections of Sam nameh, selected by Mansour Rastghar Fasayee, Shiraz, Navid bookstore. [in Persian]
 
Khwaju Kermani, Abu al- Ata Kamal al-din Mahmoud (1991b), Homa & Homayoun, in collaboration with Kamal Eyni, Tehran: Institute for Cultural Studies and Research. [in Persian]
 
Ma'dankan, Masoomeh (1996), A look into Khaqani's world, Tehran: Academic Publishing Center.
[in Persian]
 
Maghrebi Shams (1979), Divan, in collaboration with Abu Taleb Mirabedini, Tehran: Zavvar bookstore. [in Persian]
 
Majd Hamgar (1996), Divan, edited by: Ahmad Karami, Ma bookstore. [in Persian]
 
Mauss, Marcel (2018), General Theory of Magic, translated into Persian by Hossein Torkaman Nezhad, Tehran: Markaz bookstore. [in Persian]
 
Mēnōg-ī Khrad [Spirit of Wisdom] (2000), translated into Persian by Ahmad Tafazzoli, with collaboration of Jaleh Amouzgar, Tehran: Toos bookstore. [in Persian]
 
Moghaddasi, Motahhar ibn Taher (2011), Creation and History, translated into Persian by Mohammad-Reza Shafiei Kadkani, Tehran Aghah bookstore. [in Persian]
 
Moin, Mohammad (1947), Mazdayasnā [Zoroastrianism] and its Influence on Persian Literature, Tehran: Tehran University Press. [in Persian]
 
Monshi, Nasrallah (2001), Kalila and Demna, edited by Mojtaba Minovi, Tehran: Amir Kabir bookstore. [in Persian]
 
Mosahab, Gholamhossein (2001), Persian Encyclopedia, Tehran: Pocket Books Joint Stock Company (Affiliated with Amir Kabir Publications). [in Persian]
 
Mu'izzi, Abū Abdullāh (2010), Divan, edited by Abbas Eqbal Ashtiani, in collaboration with Abd -al Karim Jorbozehdar, Tehran: Asatir bookstore. [in Persian]
 
Naziri Nishapuri, Mohammad Hossein (1961), Divan, edited by Mozaher Mosaffa, Tehran: Amir Kabir and Zavvar bookstores. [in Persian]
 
Nayyer, Hojat al- Eslam Mirza Mohammad Taghi (1940), Divan Atashkadeh, Tabriz: Hatef, Elmiyyeh & Mahamir bookstores. [in Persian]
Nizami Ganjavi, Nezam al- din Ilyās (2009), Khamsa (Five Books), Tehran: Hermes bookstore. [in Persian]
 
Noor Ali Shah Esfahani (1970), Divan, with collaboration of Javad Noorbakhsh, Tehran: Khanghah bookstore. [in Persian]
 
Noss, John Boyer (2013), A Comprehensive History of Religions, translated into Persian by Ali Asghar Hekmat, Tehran: Elmi & Farhanghi bookstore. [in Persian]
 
Padeshah, Mohammad (1984), Annederaj Dictionary, Tehran: Khayyam bookstore. [in Persian]
 
Qa'ani Shirazi (1957), Divan, edited by: M.J. Mahboob, Tehran: Amir Kabir bookstore. [in Persian]
 
Qatran Tabrizi (2023), Divan, with an introduction by Mahmood Abedi & Masoud Ja'fari, Tehran: Persian Academy Press with collaboration of Sokhan bookstore. [in Persian]
 
Qazwini, Zakariya (1994), Āthār al-Bilād wa-Akhbār al-ʻIbād, edited by: Mir Hashem Mohaddes, Tehran: Amir Kabir bookstore. [in Persian]
 
Razi, Hashem (2002), Encyclopedia of Ancient Iran, Vol 5, Tehran: Sokhan bookstore. [in Persian]
 
Rūmī, Jalāl al-Dīn Muhammad (1984), Shams's Collection Works, edited by Badi' al-zaman Forouzanfar, Tehran: Amir Kabir bookstore. [in Persian]
 
Sa'di Shirazi, Mosleh ibn Abdollah (2002), Collected Works, edited by: M. A. Foroughi, in collaboration with Bahaedin Khoramshahi, Tehran: Doostan bookstore. [in Persian]
 
Saib Tabrizi, Mirza Mohammad Ali (2008), Divan, edited by: Mohammad Ghahraman, Tehran: Elmi & Farhanghi Bookstore. [in Persian]
 
Saif Farghani (2003), Divan, edited by: Zabihollah Safa, Tehran: Ferdos bookstore. [in Persian]
 
Sajjadi, Seyyed Ja'far (1982), Culture of Intellectual sciences, Tehran: Islamic Society of Wisdom and Philosophy of Iran. [in Persian]
 
Sanā'ī Ghaznavi, Abul-Majd Majdūd ibn Ādam (2001), Divan, in collaboration with Moddares Razavi, Tehran: Sanā'ī bookstore. [in Persian]
 
Sarkarati, Bahman (1999), Hunted Shadows (selection of Articles), Tehran: Ghatreh bookstore. [in Persian]
 
Tabari, Muhammad ibn Jarir (1960), Translation of Tabari's commentary, Vol 7, in collaboration with Habib Yaghmai, Tehran: Tehran University Press. [in Persian]
 
Tahanavi, Mohammad Ali (1996) Kashaf al- Estelahat -al Fonoon, [Discoverer of the terms of art and science], edited by: Rafigh -al Ajam, translated by: Abd -Allah Alkhaledi, Lebanon: Nasheroon bookstore. [in Arabic]
Translation of Tafsir al-Tabari (1977), edited by: Habib Yaghmaee, Tehran: Toos bookstore. [in Persian]
Tylor. E.B. (1892) exhibition of charms and Amulets international folklore congress London.
 
Vahid Dastgerdi, Hassan (2006), Footnotes to the Commentaries on Nezami's Khosrow and Shirin,
Tehran: Ghatreh bookstore. [in Persian]
 
Yavaghit al- Ollom va Darari al- Nojoom (1985), edited by Mohammad Taqi Danesh Pajouh, Tehran: Ettela'at bookstore. [in Persian]
 
Zakani, Nizam al-Din Ubayd Allah al (2012), Collected Works, edited by: Parviz Atabaki, Tehran: Zavvar bookstore. [in Persian]
Classical Persian Literature
Volume 16, Issue 2 - Serial Number 41
Autumn & Winter
February 2026
Pages 295-341

  • Receive Date 23 August 2024
  • Revise Date 09 May 2025
  • Accept Date 24 May 2025
  • Publish Date 21 January 2026