A Study of the Ghazals of Hāfez based on Jakobson’s Theory of Communicative Function

Jakobson’s model of language functions categorizes effective acts of communication into six distinct functions: referential, emotive, conative, phatic, metalingual, and poetic. According to Jakobson, artists can influence the audience by utilizing these functions to channel their message. The functions of language, alongside their orientations toward the addressee, addresser, message and other components, play a crucial role in determining the writer’s mode of expression and the portrayal of the world around them, which can result in distinct representations of the same subject. This study focuses on examining and analyzing the effects of language functions in Hāfez’s ghazals based on Jakobson’s communication process, utilizing a descriptive-analytical method and library resources,. The research takes a predominantly structuralist approach, with the Ghani-Qazvini edition of Hāfez’s poems serving as the base source. By incorporating linguistic findings and the poetic function of language, the research aims to illustrate the poetic manipulations of language employed by Hāfez in his ghazals. It is these intentional manipulations of language that contribute to the lasting appeal and endurance of Hāfez’s poems. The findings of the research highlight that, considering the linguistic and thematic characteristics of Hāfez’s ghazals, each language functions, according to Jacobson’s theory of communication, can be examined through three axes: 1) structure, 2) theme, 3) audience. The analysis of sentence structures, such as bipartite, tripartite, and quadripartite sentences, reveal that primary and secondary elements encompassing subjective, complementary, objective, predicative, and adverbial functions, all play a role in conveying the poet’s intended message in most verses.