The Literal and Terminological Meanings of "Lāsakavī" and Prosodic Analysis of This Poetic Form

Articles in Press

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Arabic Language and Literature Department, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

Most lexicographers have included "Lāsakavī" as an entry in their dictionaries based on a poetic reference from Manuchehri Damghani’s Divan, defining it -with slight variations in pronunciation- as a small, melodious bird. However, recent scholars, noting its appearance in the Miʿyār al-Ashʿār, have concluded that the term must have been a technical designation for a specific type of poetry with a special meter. With access to a newly edited version of Manuchehri’s Divan, an alternative reading of the relevant verse, and two existing examples of Lāsakavī, it can now be hypothesized that: 1. The correct pronunciation was Lāsakavī (لاسَکَوی). 2. It referred to a poetic form consisting of two lines (abyāt), composed not in standard Persian (Darī) but in one of its dialects; most likely Tabarī (Mazandarani). 3. Its rhyme scheme resembled that of the rubāʿī (quatrain), and its meter was similar but not identical to the rubāʿī, as it did not strictly follow quantitative (ʿarūḍ) prosody. This study employs a historical-analytical research method.

Keywords

Journal Of Linguistic and Rhetorical Studies

Articles in Press, Corrected Proof
Available Online from 04 November 2025

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