The Role of Color in Defining/Identifying the Subject/Object in Bidel's Poetry

Darvishpour, Mozaffar; Hasanpoor, Hiva

doi:10.30465/cpl.2026.10634

The Role of Color in Defining/Identifying the Subject/Object in Bidel's Poetry

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

Mozaffar Darvishpour ¹

Hiva Hasanpoor ²

¹ PhD student in Persian Language and Literature at the University of Kurdistan, Sanandaj, Iran.

² .Assistant Professor, Department of Persian Language and Literature, University of Kurdistan, Sanandaj, Iran.

10.30465/cpl.2026.10634

Abstract

Bidel Dehlavi, a distinguished poet of the Indian style, is primarily celebrated for his mystical-philosophical ghazals. The complexity and esoteric nature of his poetry, as noted by most Bedil scholars, have resulted in his relative obscurity compared to other poets. This study investigates and analyzes the role of color in his ghazals through a descriptive-analytical approach. Color emerges as a frequently recurring motif in Bedil’s poetry, highlighting its significance in conveying his abstract concepts. The findings of this research suggest that, from a philosophical perspective, the limitations of the subject in relation to the object hinder their complete unity. From a mystical perspective, color serves as a veil that, through its manifestations, separates the subject from the truth, though it may also act as a guide toward the object. From a phenomenological standpoint, color represents the mode of the object’s appearance in the subject’s consciousness, which is inherently incomplete and conditional. From an existentialist viewpoint, color symbolizes the subject’s quest for meaning in the face of an object that is often unattainable or illusory.

Keywords: Bidel Dehlavi, Ghazals, Color, Philosophy, Mysticism, Defining/Identifying.

Introduction
In the ghazals of Bidel Dehlavi, the subject typically gazes upon the world, the beloved, or divine truth with mystical or emotional awareness. The object can be the material world, the beloved (either earthly or divine), or even the subject itself in a state of inner contemplation. The concept of color, as a mediator between the subject and the object, sometimes signifies the deceptiveness of the material world (the object)—which attempts to deceive the subject—and at other times, it denotes the subject's effort to comprehend or reconstruct the object through contemplation and imagination. Therefore, color can represent the subject's perceptions that reconstruct the object (the world or the beloved) through its own mind. The high frequency of the word "color" in Bidel's poetry indicates that, from the perspective of idealism, the world without color (the subject's perception) is meaningless, and from a mystical viewpoint, color—as the apparent manifestations of the world or divine attributes—signifies the distance between the subject (limited human) and the transcendent object (divine truth), which the subject attempts to bridge through forms such as annihilation (fana) or unity of existence (wahdat al-wujud).
Literature Review and Methodology
In classical philosophy, the subject is presented as a rational and metaphysical being, particularly among Greek philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle. In other words, the subject is defined as a rational being that attains identity through reason and contemplation of its own existence and the world's essence. The determination of the subject in this view is shaped through metaphysical knowledge and humanity's place in the system of being. For example, in Plato's philosophy, the subject achieves determination through knowledge of the forms (ideas) and separation from the sensible world. The self-founded and rational subject in modern philosophy is defined as a self-aware and autonomous being that achieves determination through reason, will, and self-consciousness. This view begins with Descartes and reaches its peak in Kant and Hegel. Descartes, with the principle "I think, therefore I am," introduces the subject as a self-aware and thinking being whose existence is independent of the material world. The determination of the subject here is shaped through its active role in constructing knowledge. Hegel views the subject in a dialectical process of self-consciousness that achieves determination through negation and affirmation in relation to the other (the world and others). In general, and considering the discussions raised, it can be said that in classical philosophy, the subject is determined through reason and metaphysical knowledge. In modern philosophy, the self-founded subject finds its identity through self-awareness and rational activity. In postmodern philosophy, the subject is fluid and dependent on discourses and power relations. In Islamic-Iranian philosophy as well, the subject is determined in connection with divine truth and through self-knowledge and intuition.
Discussion
Color in the sense of pretext or reason signifies the subject's effort to find meaning or justification in the face of the object (the beloved or God). This effort is accompanied by anxiety and incapacity because the subject feels limited in the face of the object's grandeur. Color in the sense of form and mode (change of essence) points to the existential crisis of the subject, which loses or redefines itself in confrontation with the object. In this view, color signifies the subject's search for meaning in a world where its objects are not fully accessible. This search is accompanied by tension, ambiguity, and efforts toward self-construction. "What does the world of color have except the dust of withering?" signifies the emptiness and instability of the object (the world), which the subject, aware of this emptiness, must redefine itself and reach meaning through free choice (breaking the color). The subject's incapacity on one hand and the object's silence on the other signify the existential anxiety of the subject in the face of the world's instability. The subject must accept this incapacity to attain a new meaning. Color in the sense of body, form, image, and effect, signifies the subject's dependence on the object (God or truth) in the sense of humanity's effort to find meaning in a world where it alone is incapable of creating identity, and it conveys the subject's effort to preserve meaning in the face of emptiness or existential dispersion. The "calm color" separated from his figure signifies the loss of life's meaning. Color in the sense of song and sound also points to this human incapacity, where the effort to find meaning remains inadequate and incomplete, and "becoming color" signifies the effort to find identity or meaning in relation to the other. From an existentialist perspective and considering color in Bidel's ghazals, it can be said that there is tension between the subject and the object, and color in the sense of pretext or manifestation is an effort to fill this gap. Color in the sense of manifestation can have another connotation as well, meaning that the object captivates the subject with its manifestations, and the subject, in interaction with the object, is transformed and reaches a form of self-construction.
Conclusion
Considering the discussions raised, from a philosophical perspective, the subject is placed before transcendent objects, but existential limitations prevent complete union. From a mystical perspective, color is a veil that separates the subject from truth with its manifestations but simultaneously serves as a guide to achieving unity of existence, and the mystic is always striving for liberation from the self and attaining divine manifestation. From a phenomenological perspective, color is the mode of the object's appearance in the subject's consciousness, which is always incomplete and conditional. From an existentialist perspective, color signifies the subject's search for meaning in the face of an object that is often unattainable or deceptive, and this point is rooted in Bidel's mystical and existential view, which sees humanity always in search of truth but trapped in egoistic and material limitations. This multilayered nature of color signifies the philosophical depth of Bidel's poetry, in which the subject and object are in a continuous and tense dialogue.

Keywords

Bidel Dehlavi

Ghazals

Color

Philosophy

Mysticism

Defining/Identifying

Subjects

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