Journal of the stylistic of Persian poem and prose
volume Number 18، number In Volume 11، February 2026 ، issue Number 117

A Historical, Literary, and Rhetorical Study of the Metaphor “The Claw of Death” in Persian Rhetorical Works and Poetry

Fatemeh Zahra Tavancheh:PhD , Seyed Javad Mortezaie (Author in Charge), Marzieh Abad

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The image of death as a clawed creature in the verse “When the talons of fate sink in, no charm can avail” by the Arab poet Hudhali has long served as a canonical reference in the teaching of metaphor within Arabic and Persian rhetoric. Depicting death as a fierce and inescapable predator, this image has appeared in various forms and interpretations across Persian poetry since its earliest stages. Over time, it was transmitted from the domain of Arabic rhetoric into Persian rhetorical tradition. The main objective of this study is to investigate the process of this transmission and to analyze its pedagogical and literary significance in the works of rhetoricians and poets.

METHODOLOGY: This study employs a library-based, descriptive–analytical approach. The research corpus comprises twenty-five sources from Persian rhetorical treatises, along with selected examples of classical and contemporary poetry by prominent poets. The data were collected and analyzed with a focus on the historical development, rhetorical function, and semantic dimensions of the phrase “the claw of death.”

FINDINGS: The cited verse has appeared in Arabic rhetorical Works by Iranian scholars since the fifth century AH. It later entered Persian rhetorical discourse, where it served to illustrate different types of metaphor, clarify distinctions among them, and critique rhetorical theories. The verse is cited in various forms—an individual phrase, a single hemistich, two consecutive lines, analogous sentences, or Persian equivalents—with the complete citation being the most frequent. Historically, from the Qajar period onward, it has been used to explain the metaphor of imaginative personification and the rhetorical device of personification, forming a basis for analyses by classical rhetoricians. In Persian poetry, the metaphor has undergone a semantic evolution—from portraying human helplessness before death to symbolizing a mystical liberation and, later, expressing romantic melancholy in modern verse.

CONCLUSION: The expression “the claw of death” constitutes one of the most enduring descriptive images in the analysis of the imaginary implied metaphor (istiʿāra makniyya takhyīliyya), metaphorical genitive, and the rhetorical device of personification within Persian rhetorical discourse. In Persian poetry, its meaning has evolved from expressing the inevitability of death to embodying mystical transcendence and, later, romantic melancholy.

Keyword
metaphor , the claw of death , Hudhali , Rhetorical Works , Persian poetry.