Journal of Linguistic and Rhetorical Studies

Journal of Linguistic and Rhetorical Studies

Cognitive Functions of Narratives about Hasanak Vazir in Tarikh-e Beyhaqi: A Rhetorical Narratology Approach

Document Type : Original Article

Author
Ghodsieh Rezvanian
Mazandaran university
10.22075/jlrs.2025.39402.2773
Abstract
The narrative nature of history is not only the most important point of connection between history and fiction, but sometimes it officially brings history into the realm of literature; especially if it is imbued with literary aesthetics. Prior to the emergence of narratology, despite the story-like and legendary nature of historical writing, it was generally assumed that the elevated literary style linked history to the domain of literature. Narratology, however, suspended history-oriented knowledge. For traditional historian, in whose view, the philosophy of history consists of the repetition of historical patterns for didactic ends, allegorical elements embedded within parallel narratives serve to reinforce this view. This narrative practice shows affinity with the aesthetic element of the association of ideas. This article has examined the relationship between the two under the rubric of the rhetoric of narrative in Tarikh-e Beyhaqi. The scope of the research is the Hasnak-e Vazir episode in relation to the nine narratives that precede and follow it, conducted through a descriptive-analytical method informed by theories of rhetorical narratology and the association of ideas. The similarities and differences between the main narrative and its sub-narratives have been analyzed within a coherent structural framework. It has been concluded that this narrative technique, as a meaning-making strategy, expands the main plot, produces of new layers of meaning, opens gaps between the text’s explicit statements and the meanings embedded within the narrative, foregrounds the reader's active role, enables the author to express a cautious yet sophisticated critical stance, and ultimately encourages the reader to internalize that perspective.
Keywords
Analogy
Association of ideas
embedded narrative
Hasanak-e Vazir episode
parallel narratives
Tarikh-e Beyhaqi
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Journal of Linguistic and Rhetorical Studies
Volume 17, Issue 44
In progress
Summer 2026
Pages 39-70