The Sudden Resurrection: The Role of Outward Rhetoric Figures in the Mathnavi

Writing commentaries on the Mathnavi of Jalal al-Din Mohammad Mowalvi has a long history. But the important point in Mathnavi commentaries, is their mystical nature in interpreting the contents of the verses. The interpretive method proposed in this article for the analysis of the Mathnavi, tries to reasonably confine itself to the meaning of the words used in each verse. In this method the literary rhetoric and lingual ornamentations are the bases of the meaning. This approach which the author calls an “outward interpretation” is used to challenge the presumption shared by the Mathnavi scholars regarding the word and form as discreditable,compared to the lofty thoughts of Mowlavi. In this method, the language of the Mathnavi and Mowlavi’s poetic talent are the primary standards of explaining the verses.