Semantic transformation of reason and love in Persian fictional poetry and today's concept (Ferdowsi, Nizami, Mowlavi)

Reason and love are two abstract nouns and like lots of this kind of nouns have been a kind of elastic concept. For longtime this resiliency have caused vast discussions concerning their essences and limits of meanings. Philosophers, mystics, and intellectuals have commented in some way for their demarcation. The great Persian poets have also used and introduced these concepts in different ways. This article is to follow the course of semantic changes of these two words in Shahnameh, Panj Ganj, and Masnavi. We found that Ferdowsi has used these two words in the meanings close to their usual applications; Nizami has represented romantic love at its most exciting level and has also had some primary and raw remarks about the transcendental reason (Aghl-e Kolli) and reason derived by revelation. Mowlavi has been in an outstanding manner as a groundbreaker in changing the implications of the concepts and attributed such spiritual and mystical meanings to them that they reach the borders of homonyms. That is why Mowlavi’s conceptions of reason and love, because of their untenable method were limited within a discourse of spiritual aristocracy while usual and practical usage of these words remained close to the approaches and symbols of Nizami and specially Ferdowsi