Poetical Techniques in the Gathas

The Gathas, consisted of seventeen hymns, are the oldest literary work in Iran. These hymns are composed in a syllabic meter and poetical language. In recent centuries, many scholarshave studied the Gathas andhave consideredtheir poetic features. Some scholars have tried to reveal Gathas’ poetic technique on the bases of intertextual evidence, and have compared them with Rig-Veda. In this article, referring to some of this evidence, the authors try to show other poetical elements that have not been yet considered; elements that have been applied by Iranian poets for millenniaafter Gathas. The present studyis concerned about the Gathicrhetoric,andthe imagery and figures of speech used in them, such as metonymy, simile, metaphor,amoebaean,antithesis and alliteration.By demonstrating stylistic unity of the Gathas, and pointing out such features as the poetic method of mentioning the nameof the composer by himself, the authors try to prove the attribution of these hymns to Zarathustra. Examples of Persian poetry, especially Hafez’s, are given here to prove the similarity of rhetoric techniques in different times.