An Analysis of the role of Allusion and its types (religious and mythological) in Bakhtiari Fairy Tales

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 PhD in Persian Language and Literature, Shahrekord University, Shahrekord, Iran (Corresponding author)

2 Professor, Department of Persian Language and Literature, Lorestan University, Khorramabad, Iran.

10.22075/jlrs.2024.35949.2556

Abstract

Allusion is one of the most widely used rhetorical devices in Persian literature, both verse and prose forms - especially in folklore stories. In Bakhtiari fairy tales, allusion is a predominantly present element, both religious ones (referring to the hadiths, Quranic verses and stories of the prophets) and mythological ones, whether national (referring to the demon and Simorgh) and international (referring to dragon). In this regard, the present research investigate twenty stories from Bakhtiari fairy tales, including . In these stories, religious and mythological allusions are among the main literary devices. An example of these religious and spiritual allusions can be seen in the story of “Dal’s Daughter” (Dokhtar Dāl), where the prayer of a dervish transforms an egg and a few pieces of old cloth into a beautiful girl. Various effects of mythological allusions are also used in different ways, such as referring to the growth of plants from human blood, the healing of Simorgh, the villainy of demons and dragons. This study, a descriptive-analytical research based on library studies, investigates the use of these allusions in the aforementioned stories, by citing evidence from the stories and analyzing them.

Keywords


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