Artistic Functions of the Four Elements in Khaqani's Odes

Khaqani, the great 12th century Persian poet, has undoubtedly a unique style. Although at that time embellishing writing with figurative language and the expression of tetra partite issues had obsessed the mind of many poets, Khaqani’s odes is the best in this regard. Khaqani’s unrivalled knowledge in history, philosophy, medicine, astrology, stories of prophets and, the Quran, interpretation and hermeneutics, and Persian myths has virtually made his Divan of Odes an encyclopedia. The four elements is a topic that is extensively used in his poetry. The frequency, artistic and the imagistic use of these elements have made him a unique poet in approaching them. The present paper makes an attempt to study the frequency and the way these elements are employed in his odes. For this reason, these elements has been classified formally. Afterwards, other aspects of this artistic feature are addressed and at the end of this study the role of these four elements in creating images in Khaqani's poetry is studied.