A Paradigmatic-Syntagmatic Analysis of Mohammad Ali Shams al-Din’s “Al-Nazeloon ala al-Riyh”

The theory of paradigmatic and syntagmatic axes developed by Roman Jacobson is one of the important approaches employed in semantic and formalist criticism. This theory has a unique function in discovering the internal meanings of linguistic structures and, in particular, the study of contemporary literature and the innovations of the authors of this era. Mohammad Ali Shams al-Din is one of the contemporary modern poets of Lebanese resistance literature who fashioned stunning imagery by creating innovative methods of linking elements of discourse. Taking note of the complexity and multi-layered concinnity of Shams al-Din’s poetry, the present paper seeks to employ a descriptive-analytic method to elicit the aesthetic elements of his ode “Al-Nazaloon Ala al-Riyh” based on paradigmatic and syntagmatic axes. This leads to an analysis of the covert semantic relations found in this literary work, as well as to discovering the innovative symbols used in it, and to determining the extent of its relevance to Iranian history, on the one hand, and the Islamic-Shi’i culture on the other. The results of the discussion indicate that Shams al-Din, by carefully selecting his words and combining them in paradigmatic and syntagmatic axes, has made intricate and delicate concinnities, using the literary devices of Īhām (a literary device in which the author’s words, phrases, or sentences do not have a fixed interpretation and can be interpreted in different ways), metaphor, and irony. Furthermore, he, for the first time, using the symbols of Iranian history, like Zenobia, along with the novel symbols derived from the Koranic culture and the battle of Karbala, such as wind and zabiha (the Islamic method of slaughtering halal animals), exhibited the interrelation of Arab, Iranian, and Islamic cultures. Moreover, the nature of his poetry is such that in critique and analysis of his literature, the paradigmatic and syntagmatic axes work properly and efficiently.