انجمن زبان شناسی ایران زبان و زبان‌شناسی 23223847 21 41 2025 12 22 A Corpus-based Study of the Word of Death in Persian Poems Based on Conceptual Metaphor Theory بررسی پیکره‌بنیاد واژة «مرگ» در اشعار فارسی با تکیه بر نظریة استعارة مفهومی 1 22 10753 10.30465/lsi.2026.47538.1723 FA جلال تباشیر دانشجوی دکترای زبان‌شناسی، پژوهشگاه علوم انسانی و مطالعات انسانی، تهران، ایران 0000-0001-5041-4592 Journal Article 2023 11 27 The present study has investigated the concept of death in Masnavi and Shahnameh based on the conceptual metaphor theory, to investigate which source domains are used for conceptualizing the abstract concept of death. The method of this corpus-based study is descriptive-analytical, and AntConc software has been used for analyzing data. The results showed that Rumi used 24 sources and Ferdowsi used 19 sources. Also, according to the results of the data analysis, there are 9 common source domains in their poems. In Ferdowsi's view, death is usually a scary and destructive creature that brings an atmosphere of nothingness and destruction. Although, in Rumi's poems, death is sometimes depicted as a pleasant phenomenon and sometimes as an unpleasant phenomenon, which on the one hand evokes a space full of pain and illusion, and on the other hand, a space full of liberation, wisdom, and growth. Based on this, it can be said that the topic and content of the analyzed poems are influential in illustrating the concepts and the poet's attitude toward these concepts. 1. Introduction The present study examines the concept of death in the Persian texts of Shahnameh and Masnavi within the framework of Conceptual Metaphor Theory. Conceptual metaphors are essential tools for analyzing abstract concepts, as they allow for the comprehension and concretization of such concepts by linking them to tangible experiences and source domains. Accordingly, this framework play a particularly significant role in concretizing the abstract concept of “death” in Persian poetry. Analyzing conceptual metaphors enables researchers to systematically investigate poets’ perspectives on death, the source domains employed, and the semantic patterns that emerge. The primary objective of this study is to identify the source domains in the Shahnameh and the Masnavi, examine the similarities and differences in their conceptualizations of death, and ultimately interpret the findings. By employing corpus-based methods and tools such as AntConc for data analysis, the study adopts a descriptive–analytical approach grounded in corpus evidence. The findings not only offer a deeper understanding of the depiction of death in Persian poetry but also reflect the influence of poets’ lived experiences, poetic genres, and broader cultural and religious worldviews on their conceptualization of this phenomenon. Research Question(s) Ø How do Ferdowsi and Rumi employ conceptual metaphors and which source domains do they use to conceptualize of death? Ø What are the similarities and differences between the source domains of the Shahnameh and the Masnavi? Ø How can the similarities and differences in Ferdowsi’s and Rumi’s perspectives on death be explained? 2. Literature Review Previous studies have shown that conceptual metaphors are essential tools for analyzing linguistic and cultural perceptions of death. Owiredu (2020), examining Hebrew and Akan, demonstrated that speakers of both languages employ similar source domains and comparable views on death. Solheim (2014), analyzing English and American obituary notices, identified “motion” and “emotion” as the primary source domains and highlighted cultural differences between the two contexts. Domestic studies, such as those by Sadeghi et al. (2022) and Khalifelou and Mojahidi (2022), explored conceptual metaphors in Persian poetry, revealing that metaphors reflect poets’ worldviews, cognitive frameworks, and stylistic features. Specifically, Shabanzlou (2019, 2020) and Aryan and Talkhabi (2020) analyzed death in Persian mystical and contemporary poetry, showing that metaphors simultaneously convey the philosophical, religious, and literary dimensions of the concept. Despite these contributions, research systematically examining death metaphors in classical Persian poetry, particularly the differing perspectives of prominent poets like Ferdowsi and Rumi, remains limited. The present study aims to fill this gap by employing a corpus-based, descriptive–analytical approach to investigate how death is metaphorically conceptualized and how poetic style influences poets’ conceptualization of death, thus it contributes to both cognitive linguistics and Persian literary studies. 3. Methodology The texts were selected because of their authors’ distinct perspectives -Ferdowsi as an epic poet and Rumi as a mystic- which make their conceptualizations of death particularly insightful. The dataset comprises the complete texts of both works. The Shahnameh Word file was retrieved from http://www.satveh.blogfa.com, and the Masnavi file from https://shefa.4kia.ir. After removing the extraneous material, the texts were compiled into seven raw corpus files using Word 2013, resulting in a total of 99,838 words (38,895 from the Masnavi and 60,943 from the Shahnameh). As the study does not test a formal hypothesis, it adopts a corpus-based, descriptive–analytical approach. Data processing and analysis were carried out using the AntConc concordance software, which enabled a systematic examination of metaphorical conceptualizations of death in both texts. 6. Conclusion The findings of the study indicated that in Rumi’s poetry, conceptual metaphors for death, such as likening it to planting seeds, floods, or birth, are grounded in mythological foundations. Rumi draws on mythological sources and Qur’anic concepts, offering multifaceted perspectives on death and creating rich and imaginative imagery. He employs twenty-four source domains to concretize the abstract concept of death including: journey, illness, predatory animal, time, path, terrifying being, planting, autumn, maturity, growth, liberation, hunter, human, prison, reaper, separation, judge, food, wine, guest, agent of knowledge, flood or storm, place, and evolution. For Rumi, death is sometimes perceived as pleasant and at other times as unpleasant. It is pleasant in the sense that death facilitates transformation, maturation, evolution, liberation, and serves as a path from the temporal to the eternal, representing the sole route to felicity and immortality. In essence, Rumi perceives death as a bridge to truth and a release from worldly corruption. Conversely, he also depicts death as merciless, bloodthirsty, and hostile to humans, leading to destruction and annihilation. Moreover, death is likened to wine, which can taste sweet or bitter. This duality in Rumi’s perspective reflects his mystical and religious worldview, wherein death is considered a positive event for the faithful but a punishment for the wicked. Ferdowsi, however, conceptualizes death in a somewhat distinct manner differently, relying more heavily on predators and fearsome which beings as source domains. He employs nineteen source domains including: fire, place, moving object, object, path or bridge, hunter, human, predatory animal, wind, prison, eagle, destination, terrifying being, poison or wine, sharp object, obstacle, pain, door, and person’s name. In the Shahnameh, death is depicted as a dynamic and active entity -constantly moving, warring, hunter, spilling blood, and tearing apart- reflecting Ferdowsi’s epic poeti c orientation. His frequent references to battles, heroes, and martial instruments such as clubs, spears, swords, and bows create a threatening atmosphere, which in turn shapes his choice of source domains. Among the source domains employed in the two corpora, nine are shared, indicating a shared understanding of death between the two poets. According to Lakoff and Johnson (1999), metaphors are rooted in embodied human experience, and conceptual thinking based on metaphors originates from embodied cognition (Kövecses, 2005, p. 2). The diversity of metaphors observed in this study can be attributed to differences in personal experiences, poetic genre, and the creative use of concrete phenomena to conceptualize an abstract entity. پژوهش حاضر به بررسی مفهوم مرگ با تکیه بر نظریة استعاره‌های مفهومی در دو آثار مثنوی و شاهنامه پرداخته است با این هدف که مشخص سازد برای عینی‌سازی مفهوم انتزاعی مرگ از چه حوزه‌هایی در مبدأ بهره برده‌اند. روش پژوهش حاضر، پیکره بنیاد از نوع توصیفی - تحلیلی است. جهت تحلیل داده‌ها از نرم‌افزار واژه‌نمای Ant Conc استفاده شده است. نتایج نشان داد مولانا از تعداد ٢٤ مبدأ‌ و فردوسی نیز از تعداد ١٩ مبدأ‌ بهره جسته‌اند. طبق نتایج حاصل از مقایسة داده‌ها تعداد ٩ حوزه در میان دو آثار مشترک است. در نگرش فردوسی مرگ بیشتر یک موجود ترسناک و ویرانگر است که فضایی از نیستی و نابودی ویرانی را به همراه دارد اگرچه در اشعار مولانا مرگ گاهی خوشایند و گاهی ناخوشایند به تصویر کشیده شده که از طرفی فضایی پر از درد و وهم و از طرفی هم فضایی با رهایی، حکمت و رشد را تداعی می‌سازد؛ بنابراین، می‌توان گفت موضوع و محتوای اشعار بررسی‌شده در تصویرسازی مفاهیم و همچنین نوع نگرش شاعر به این مفاهیم تأثیرگذار است.

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