Mystical Function of Situational and Dramatic Irony in Masnavi Mowlavi

Subject Areas : Islamic Mysticism

Mohammad Reza Haji-Agha Babaie ¹ (Associate Professor, Persian Language and Literature, Allameh Tabataba’i University, Tehran, Iran,)
Amir Hossein Pahlavan ² (PhD Graduate, Persian Language and Literature)

Received: 2021-12-18 Accepted : 2021-12-18 Published : 2021-12-22

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Abstract :

One of the literary techniques used by poets and writers is irony. Irony refers to a speech or situation which results in discordance between the audience and the speaker. In such a case, the speaker says something or acts in a certain manner while the understanding of the audience differs from what the speaker intended. In irony, we find two elements: first, the element of innocence, and, second, the element of humor. Innocence, or unknowing trust, mostly relates to the victim of the irony who usually puts his/her trust in the ironist, and falls victim to the deception or pretense of the ironist. The element of humor is the other essential feature of irony. In ironic stories, the characters of the story are juxtaposed in a manner to create a humorous effect. The present article investigated the function of situational and dramatic irony in Masnavi. Molavi, drawing on situational and dramatic irony, has attempted to put the audience in a situation where they, while being aware of the ironic nature of the situation, are surprised, and, therefore, gain a better understanding of the rich concepts. Ironic speech has enabled Molavi to adopt an approach in the climax of the story which is unexpected by the audience, thus dealing them the final blow, and he takes great advantage of such an opportunity to present his rich irfanic [=of true knowledge] and didactic concepts.