In the past, poetry was defined as rhythmic, rhymed, and imaginative language. Today, however, more precise characteristics can be considered in defining poetry. Drawing on five components, namely emotion, music, language, imagination, and form, Shafi'i Kadkani defines poetry as "the intertwining of emotion and imagination formed in rhythmic language." In the present study, this definition is employed as a criterion for assessing the poetic quality of literary works. By analyzing the components of emotion, language, music, imagination, and form in Monazereye Goharha (Debate of the Gems), a work written in technical, and at times ornate and difficult, prose, we seek to examine the author's success in bringing scientific prose closer to the realm of poetry and enhancing its literary quality. This study demonstrates how the subject of gemology has been used to create a literary work. Gemology was one of the sciences of the past that dealt with the characteristics, merits and defects, methods of preserving, and prices of precious stones. Like other scientific works, goharnamehs traditionally employed scientific language. The anonymous author of Monazereye Goharha, however, adopts a norm-breaking, imaginative, and literary approach to the names and characteristics of various gems, thereby introducing this novel subject into the realm of literature. The use of the debate form and narrative voice, deep semantic connections, an accumulation of descriptions, and rare and sometimes challenging literary devices, all of which contribute to the poeticity and literariness of the work, leads readers to regard this goharnameh more as a literary work than as a scientific one.
Introduction
Given the complexity of scientific works, scholars have traditionally employed plain language to convey their ideas. From its inception, Persian scientific literature has generally adhered to the principles of linguistic simplicity and precision in scientific terminology. Even during periods of decline in Persian prose, scientific language managed to retain its simplicity and coherence.
In literary works, poets and writers combine reality with illusion and imagination, carefully selecting words that reflect this transformation. During the Safavid period, technical prose was commonly employed in scientific texts.
Gemological texts were generally composed in simple and fluent prose. One exceptional literary work written in technical prose is Monazereye Goharha (Debate of the Gems), which is included in a collection identified by record number 492597 and accession number [check original reference]. This work was donated to the Library of the Islamic Consultative Assembly by Timsar Majid Firouz, also known as Naser al-Doleh. The collection comprises four treatises whose dates of composition are unknown. The date given in the treatise itself is 20 Sha'ban al-Ramadan 1065 AH [check original Persian date], recorded on page 84 of the collection. Because the opening and final pages of the manuscript are missing, the title of the treatise cannot be established with certainty. Nevertheless, Agha Bozorg's catalogue and the manuscript section of the Majlis Library both record it under the title Monazereye Goharha. The content of the work clearly indicates that its author was an Iranian writer residing in India, who was a Shi'a Muslim, possessed mystical knowledge, and was familiar with Hindu language and culture.
The author's frequent use of imperfect verbs, the inclusion of Indian equivalents for certain words, and the advocacy of "universal peace" in the text suggest that the work may predate the eleventh century AH. The work may have been composed around 1065 AH or during the reign of Akbar Shah (964–1014 AH) in India.
The author of Monazereye Goharha created a narrative that evokes the refined and graceful style of technical prose of the sixth and seventh centuries, in contrast to the typical prose of the Safavid period, in which technical prose was commonly employed in decrees, official documents, and book prefaces. Researchers have regarded this style as an extension of the decadent prose style of the Timurid period (Bahar, 1373, Vol. 3, p. 255). They have also characterized its literary works as exhibiting "slackness of expression" and "relative weakness of thought."
This article aims to assess the poetic quality of this treatise, which is considered the only literary work employing technical language in the field of gemology.
Literature Review
According to Khwaja Nasir, the purpose of logical consideration is related to imagination, whereas discussion of meter is based on logical necessity. Thus, from a logical perspective, poetry is characterized as fictitious discourse, whereas the latter tradition attributes its defining feature to rhythmic words possessing rhyme. He considers imagination to be a fundamental constituent of poetry, encompassing both traditional and contemporary interpretations (Shafi'i Kadkani, 1366, p. 3). He further maintains that poetry is an intricate fusion of emotion and imagination expressed through harmonious and rhythmic language. In The Music of Poetry, he subsequently discusses poetry as a linguistic phenomenon (ibid., 2019, p. 3).
Thus far, little attention has been devoted to analyzing the presence of poeticity in prose works based on the aforementioned components. Addressing this issue can therefore pave the way for such an investigation while revealing the complexities of Monazereye Goharha. In this study, the term "debate" is used to refer to what is commonly known as Monazereye Goharha.
Methodology
Literary scholars sometimes regard the incorporation of saj', literary devices, meter, music, and imaginative imagery into prose as elements of poeticity that can give rise to "prose poetry." The present study adopts Professor Shafi'i Kadkani's framework for identifying poetry and its structure as its theoretical framework. Monazereye Goharha is analyzed within this framework, which encompasses emotion, language, music, imagination, and form.
Findings
An analysis of Monazereye Goharha based on the five components of poeticity yields the following results:
In the imagination component, simile occurs in 142 cases (51.9%), allusion in 100 cases (37%), metaphor in 23 cases (7.5%), and alliteration in 12 cases (3.8%).
In the music component, saj' occurs in 183 cases (51.9% parallel, 29% balanced, and 19.2% [check original classification]); pun occurs in 88 cases (38.6% adverb and superlative, 25% present and past participle, 24% derivation, 6.8% total, and 7.5% compound); repetition occurs in 80 cases (71.2% lexical and 28.8% vocalic); and allusion occurs in 140 cases (63.5% proportion, 11.4% translation, 3.5% contrast, 6.4% alliteration, and 15% simple).
In the language component, artistic imagery has the highest frequency, with 213 cases (80.4%), followed by imagery involving Qur'anic verses and hadiths, with 27 cases (10%); imagery involving poetry and proverbs, with 15 cases (6.5%); imagery involving consecutive sentences, with 8 cases (3%); and imagery involving titles, with 2 cases (0.75%).
In the emotion component, the progression of emotion begins with the "individual self," moves to the "social self," and finally reaches the "human self."
In the form component, the work has a coherent structure, with the gems arranged in an order ranging from crystal, the least valuable, to coral, the most valuable, and concluding with an unseen, peaceful call.
Conclusion
Gemology is a scientific field concerned with the distinctive qualities of gemstones, including variations in their shape and color. These distinctions give rise to numerous types of gems, each with its own name. For example, differences in the shape, structure, and color of pearls have resulted in their classification into more than thirty distinct categories. The author's use of diversity, defamiliarization, and norm-breaking to create a literary discourse rather than a scientific work has resulted in a captivating and distinctive treatise in technical prose. Readers familiar with the stones and their names will be particularly impressed by the exquisite beauty created through the use of the names and characteristics of gemstones, especially through the incorporation of literary devices such as allusions and references.
Monazereye Goharha is distinguished by its powerful imagery, particularly the frequent use of similes (51%) and allusions (37%). The author employs dynamic and concise language characterized by artistic diction (80%). He also skillfully incorporates various literary devices, such as puns, repetitions, and allusions, thereby enhancing the poetic qualities of the prose.
The work possesses a highly lyrical quality because of the overall structure of the debate and its narrative form, the progression from the individual self to the social and human selves, and the use of vivid imagery in dynamic language with concise and powerful words, as well as its strong internal and spiritual musicality.