The Intertextual Relations between Baha-e-Valad’s Ma’aref and Molavi’s Masnavi

Hosseini,.S.M.,PH.D


Abstract:



Baha-e-Valad’s Ma’aref is among the texts known to have had a strong bearing on Molavi’s thinking and discourse. Molavi’s special interest in Ma’aref is reflected in his own works. Jalaluddin’s Masnavi-e-Ma’navi seems to be especially influenced by the Ma’aref as far as structural and thematic organization are concerned. The contents of the Masnavi and its improvisation style as well as the numerous associations it carries are strongly reminiscent of Baha-e-Valad’s Ma’aref. This very article addresses the shared features and intertextual relations of the Ma’aref and the Masnavi from the viewpoint of storytelling. In addition to the stories Molavi has directly adopted from the Ma’aref to only give them a more artistic treatment according to his superb storytelling taste, there is yet another subject which deserves due attention: narrative exploitation of the characters and discourses built into the Ma’aref as well as common narrative hints and allusions, structural suspense and discontinuities, and thematic turns or abrupt changes in oratory eloquence style and discourse.