A Formalistic Critical Analysis of the Fetneh Sermon in Nahj al-Balagha

Formalism is one of the most recent schools of literary criticism of the 20th century. The aesthetic value of a literary work, in a formalistic view, is primarily in its appropriate choice of lexical items, expressions and the quality of its structures. The present study enjoyed an analytical approach to analyze the 'Fetnen Sermon' in Nahj al-Balagha on the basis of the principles of formalism. Therefore, the structures and forms of the expressions were analyzed within three frameworks of morphology, phonology and syntax. The main objective, hence, was to define the extent of creativity of lexical forms and sentences and the role they played in conveying the meaning and exciting the audience. The findings of the study revealed that the syntactic structure of the sentences, choice and order of words and sentences, rhetorical devices and melody of the words were totally tuned to the content of the Sermon, leading to the induction of the content to the addressee.