Examining some of the functions of allegory in MasnaviMa'navi

Abstract

Allegory literally means resembling, analogizing something with something else, composing the body and shape of something, and exampling punishment and warning for others. Due to its high efficiency, allegory is used in some sciences. In literary discussions, due to the different themes, it is sometimes used for mind approximation and sometimes as the word arrangement. The use of allegory in Persian poetry hasfrequently been seen especially in Hindi style poetry. Maulvi is one of the poets who consider allegory throughout his poems and in various ways have benefited from it. So because of the consideration of this cherished poet to various applications of allegorical topics in MasnaviMa'navi, this book has become an allegorical book. In this article, it has been tried to address the concept of "allegory" and its functions. At first, its traditional definitions have been cited and criticized; then the definitions of allegory in the sight of ancients and contemporaries have been considered and examples of this craftin Holy Quran and works of Sofia before Maulvi have been brought as instance and finally, we deal with analyzing the typology of allegory, and its types and modes in MasnaviMa'navi.