The Study of the Boutigha of Poetry Parts of Ibn Yamin Farimoodi

Faryoumadi Ibn Yaman is one of the eminent poets of the eighth century; however, in the field of ode, lyric, elegiac poems, etc., is not the first-ranked poet among other poets of Persian language, but the distinctive point about this poet compared with other poets is his poetic style on ethical and doctrinal themes that often are reflected in his stanzas. Because in Iranian society, especially after the Mongol invasion and afterwards, such poems were so popular, and in a way, traced and revived the ethics of the Iranian damaged society, the audience and critics have given them special value. Allameh Shabli Naamani has said about the value of Ibn Yamin’s poetic style: “Ibn Yamin expresses moral poems so well that to this day nobody has come up with such poems, and because of his style, effects on the singer so that these effects are not in the words of others” (Naimani, 1984, 200). Therefore, based on various theories, it is necessary to examine the causes of the effectiveness and power of Ibn Yamin’s stanzas. One of these methods and theories is evaluating the poetics of his stanzas. Poetics has a Greek descent, and is the Arabic title of the famous treatise of Aristotle. “In the poetics conceptualization of a work, autonomy and features of its structures has fundamental importance that each work can have its special aesthetic-semantic rules. These special rules, of course, are obtained carefully examining the effect in a holistic glance” (Tavakoli, 2004, 73). In this research, we seek to study and analyze the most important and prominent components in the two aesthetic and semantic realms of Ibn Yamin’s stanzas so that the audience aware when confronted with the poems of such poet, his dominant attitude and worldview, as well as the effect rate of environmental factors on his mind and words.

In this article, by using a descriptive-analytical method, first, with a general and comprehensive look investigates all stanzas of Faryoumadi Ibn Yamin, then, with a careful look carried out to note and point out the most important and pivotal meanings of poetry and literal device of the poet that has the most frequency and reduplication. Finally, the link between the semantic and aesthetic realms of Ibn Yamin’s stanzas as well as the relationships between these realms with the environment and socio-political situation were analyzed and studied.

3.1. The semantic realm of Ibn Yamin’s stanzas Persian poetry has been rich since its first evolution and progressive period in terms of possessing precious themes. It is believed that this was the result of the existence of such sources and references in the Pahlavi language and the attention of Persian poets to them (Mahjub, 1993, 89). Also, the interaction with other tribes and the richness of the religious works and sources of the moral and doctrinal themes that their effects have been known since the advent of Persian writings works until the eighth century, has led to the formation of various types of moral and doctrinal poetry in various fields. In the following, we will examine the most significant and prominent meanings of Ibn Yamin's poems. 3.1.1. Abstemiousness and world instability The most important reasons for this motif is that “this famous speaker was in one of the most turbulent historical periods in Iran, and perhaps his place of life was more turbulent than other provinces in this land” (Khanlari, 1968, 3) and the difficulty of the poet’s era and the reversal of the norms of society has caused the poet to get away from the world and its criticism. One of the most frequent effects of the world’s instability is the transient of pleasures and troubles that the poet constantly conveys himself to the instability of this situation and not taking seriously the happy and sadness of the world, and this is psychologically a kind of reaction to endure hardship and psychological counterpart with them. Also, addressing the issue of “death” in the criticism of the world is evident in the poem of Ibn Yamin, which has often been viewed by social and doctrinal approach and by hoping to overcome the hardships and transient of the world, accepts the world’s instability. 3.1.2.Complaint and Criticism Criticism makes the main core of Ibn Yamin’s theories and teachings. Ibn Yamin’s criticisms present the living and alive images of the circumstances of his life. Also, Ibn Yamin’s criticisms are pervasive, sophisticated, and ironic; pervasive because the content of his critical stanzas is remarkable, as well as his critique does not include one person or a particular person, but includes most people in his society and era, which is found a typically state. His criticisms and complaints include criticisms and complaints of the era and fortunes; of ungratefulness the people of highbrow and the prosperity of market the artless people; complaining and criticizing the presence of the envious, the gibers and the enemies; even the complaint and critique of the admirers. 3.1.3. Forgiveness and enviousness The lack of generosity and forgiveness is one of the main weaknesses and disadvantages of the poet’s era. The reasons for addressing this issue in Ibn Yamin’s praiseworthy stanzas is that one of the most frequent commendable traits, which the poet always deals with, is his generosity and forgiveness that he, like others, is deprived of such a trait. In these stanzas, on the one hand, in the poet’s mind are depicted the utopia and the ideal city, and on the other hand, social movements are reflected in the depths of history and his era. 3.1.4. Reason and rationalism Reason and wisdom are very valuable to Ibn Yamin, and he can be called “admirer the intellect” and “rational poet”, but in the poet’s turbulent era in which “Iranian have suffered as much as their past and future history” (Safa, 1991, 1), rationalism is associated with sadness and discomfort and has lost its efficiency and effectiveness. 3.1.5. Taking the opportunity and worth of living Thinking about taking opportunity and benefit of the world’s opportunities and spending moments of life on pleasure and jollification and unsuspecting yourself from where its beginning and outcome are not apparent, Ibn Yamin’s views on death and ignoring consciously sadness has become the dominant motif of his stanzas, that is, it is due to his rational attitude to the realities of life and how it is easier to go. 3.2. The Aesthetic Realm of Ibn Yamin Stanzas Poetry, apart from what it says, how it says is tuned with beauty in everything. According to Roland Barth, the literary text is a semiotic device based on a secondary system; the literary text of semiotic device uses the primary system to create a semiotic structure at higher and more complex levels (Shamsa, 2009, 21). In fact, this field is the realm of rhetoric, in which the poet’s efficient and effective literary device should be addressed. 3.2.1. Paradox The most prominent device used in stanzas of Ibn Yemin is paradox and confrontation. The function of this device is in many cases natural and accessible to the content of poetry and has been covered in all aspects of poetry such as name, verb, adjective, adverb, phrases and sentence structure. One of the reasons for this element returns to its social environment and the poet era; the society that has become anomalous to the norm and worthy of worthlessness. 3.2.2. Simile and allegory Ibn Yamin in his moral stanzas often expresses the basics and results of practical wisdom in the form of correct allegorical and analogies with rich and stable words and expressions. Most of the similes of Ibn Yamin or “sensible analogies” are that they should be considered as the images of the depth, because they refer to facts beyond the nature, and their application has had the influence, the image authority, and giving depth to them; Or "Sensory analogies" that are taken from the areas of nature, war, astronomy, aristocratic and mystical elements, respectively. On the other hand, the use of allegory and in some cases fictional parables in the poetry stanzas express the expansive structure of the virtual image that Ibn Yamin uses to explain the thoughts, teach ethics, inform, and prove his claims. 3.2.3. Ambiguity Another one of the most prominent literary techniques of Ibn Yamin, like other poets of his era, especially Hafiz used artistically and skillfully in his poetry, is “ambiguity”, especially “balanced ambiguity” that the poet uses it to seek a multilateral and stable link between the speech words of his consistent and congruence attitude from several aspects of the audience mind to the considered subject. 3.2.4. Allusion Ibn Yamin has been using the allusion to create the new meanings, imagine and enrich the poetic images, as well as to expend and promote the principles of Islam especially Shi’a, and on the other hand, he has used the religious and epic elements for his petty purposes and interests, such as the praising of admirer, or for a superficial allegory. His allusions are two groups: a) Religious and Qur’an allusions: In the eighth century, with regard to Shi’a movements and the availability of open spaces for the tendency toward Islam specially Shi’a, a poet like Ibn Yamin adapts and arranges verses and anecdotes that this adaptation of the Qur’an, sometimes in the form of words, sometimes covered the Qur’an themes with the theme of Persian poetry, and once had had the allusion to verses and Quran anecdotes that, in addition to the structure of the poetry world created the context of guiding people and strong stimulus for the Shi’a movements, including the leaders. B. National and mythological allusions: Among national and mythological names and personalities, Ibn Yamin refers to Hatam Ta’ei (who is grateful for forgiveness and enviousness) due to the pivotal nature of the issue of forgiveness in stanzas, and Rustam (who personifies power and strength) is specially reminded due to the fatalism and many praises; because the poet speaks of the power and strength of omen and fortune, and the admirers that outstand in warfare and prowess. 3.2.5. Alliteration Such device focused on the poet mind, which uses it across multiple stanzas to match his rhymes with other couplet words. Among these congruous words, Ibn Yamin repeats some of the words more than others. For example, absolute pun between the two words “world (universe) and the world (alive)”, which have the central concept of the world’s instability and temporality, or the excessive pun between the two words “Gardon and Don”, which denotes abstemiousness. 

The central concepts of Ibn Yamin in the semantic realm are the abstemiousness and unstable of the world that one of the most important reasons for this tendency is the unfavorable condition of society. Another notable concept is the lack of forgiveness; it is one of the main weaknesses and disadvantages of the poet’s era. Another concept is the complaints and criticism, which include complaints and criticisms of the era and fortunes, ungratefulness the people of highbrow and the prosperity of market the artless people, the presence of the envious, the gibers and the enemies; even the admirers. Another issue is the rationalism of Ibn Yamin that he can be called the “admirer of the intellect” and “rational poet”, and ultimately, the time spending and taking the opportunity. The most pivotal elements of rhetoric in the aesthetic realm of Ibn Yamin are: Paradox, which has been mentioned consciously and skillfully in all aspects of Ibn yamin’s poetry. The purpose of Ibn Yamin in the field of simile and allegory is informing, teaching, preaching, explaining the thoughts, and proving the claims. Among all sorts of ambiguity, “balanced ambiguity” is often used to create artistic ambiguity in poetry, to integrate into the horizontal axis of poetry, to highlight meaning, and to decorate and modernize the word. Ibn Yamin’s allusion is often based on the religion of Islam and Qur'an, and besides that, the national and mythological allusions are also impressive. His goal to use the allusion device is to create new meanings and to fancy and enrich the poetic images as well as to promote the principles of Islam, especially Shi’a. Finally, Ibn Yamin uses the phonological and musical proportions of words especially alliteration to increase the musical aspect of his speech, creates a meaningful relationship between such phonetic proportions with the desired content.