Representation of the Allegory of the Spider's Web in Persian Literature

One of the rhetorical methods is the use of allegory. The Holy Qur’an has used a lot of allegories. The allegory of the spider is one of the most famous, simple, and tangible Qur’anic allegories for reasoning and persuasion. In the Holy Qur’an, the actions of those who rely on others (including the idols) but God are compared to a spider's web, which is the weakest house. The allegory of the spider's house has had many reflections in Persian literature as well, and Persian orators have used this Qur’anic allegory a lot and used it in various ways in creating rhetorical images. In this article, which aims to familiarize the readers with the reflection of this allegory in Persian literature and to understand how poets use it, we have analyzed more than forty literary works and the role of spider in them. In this analysis, the research data has been categorized according to the main function, and the use of spiders in symbolic roles, as vehicles, and their presence in popular culture and astronomy have been investigated. The result of the research shows that poets have used the simile of a spider's web or the name of a spider in praise, description, advice, and description of people, animals, and various situations. The spider has both positive and negative aspects in the language of poets and orators. On the positive side, the spider is the vehicle for and a symbol of concealment, striving for sustenance, an example of a weak creature that eats food, content and aloof, and is likened to love. From a negative point of view, the spider is a symbol of laziness and weakness, being inferior in achieving one's purpose, the embodiment of this world and its belongings, a deceitful and tyrannical creature, and a symbol of desire and greed. Poets have also used the name and appearance of the spider in the illustration and considered it like the sun and broken glass and believed that it is an example to analogize different moods of humans, and the cause of learning a lesson and avoiding arrogance. In popular culture, there are also beliefs about spiders and their webs in Iran and other nations.