A Study of the Semantic Functions of the Exclamatory Sentences in Khaghani's Quasidas

Khaghani's Quasidas follow different purposes, ranging from eulogy toreproof and exhortation. Apparently, this implies inconsistency and paradox; butthe controlling voice of Khaghani, with his characteristic subtlety and precisionof mind, endows his work with an organic unity in which language and contentare inseparably joined. To discuss the nature of this unity we have examined theexclamatory sentences applied in his Quasidas. Exclamatory sentences areconsidered very important in semantics. Our particular interest in exclamatorysentence is due to the fact that they have no truth value. Referring to no externalfact, and expressing only its speakers thought and emotion a exclamatorysentence provides no ground for any discussion of its truth or falsity. We haveclassified the exclamatory sentences of interrogation and imperative into twocategories of the grammatical and the semantic. Only occasionally has Khaghaniused exclamatory sentences in their original meaning. Most of these sentencesexpress a secondary meaning. In this paper Khaghani's exclamatory sentence areclassified into different categories of semantic functions assigned to them by theirspeaker. A statistical analysis of the frequency of different semantic functionsassigned to Khaghani's exclamatory sentences provides an explanation of theauthor's style and his purpose in composing Quasidas on different matters.