Journal of the stylistic of Persian poem and prose
volume Number 19، number In Volume 3، June 2026 ، issue Number 121

Functional Analysis of Closed Similes in Persian Ornate Prose, Based on Monroe Beardsley’s Theory (A Case Study: Rāḥat al-Ṣudūr)

Rasool Behnam (Author in Charge), Mohammad Reza Pashaei

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Traditional Persian rhetoric, in its treatment of simile, has predominantly focused on formal taxonomies and has paid comparatively less attention to semantic dimensions and the role of simile in guiding audience interpretation. This study aims to examine the structure of simile in Rāḥat al-Ṣudūr wa Āyat al-Surūr, authored by Muḥammad b. ʿAlī Rāvandī, in order to analyze the aesthetic nature of technical prose from the perspective of its semantic function. The central question is how Rāvandī, as a court historian and writer, employs simile to organize meaning and how this mechanism contributes to the stabilization of the author’s intended meaning.

METHODOLOGY: The research employs a descriptive-analytical method grounded in Monroe Beardsley’s theoretical framework concerning “open simile” and “closed simile.”

FINDINGS: Based on the extraction and examination of 148 instances of simile, the findings indicate that no examples of open simile appear in the text. In contrast, 85 instances (57%) are explicit closed similes in which the tertium comparationis or semantic elements are clearly articulated. Additionally, 45 instances (30%) consist of implicit closed similes or fixed simile constructions that activate conventional semantic patterns and restrict interpretive multiplicity. Only 18 cases (13%) of comparative similes were identified, primarily serving to reinforce the text’s panegyric discourse and moral evaluative tone.

CONCLUSION: The results demonstrate that the simile structure of Rāḥat al-Ṣudūr is explicitly organized toward semantic guidance. Closed similes, by reducing interpretive latitude, enhance the clarity of ethical, historical, and laudatory messages. Consequently, imagery in this work functions less as a generator of semantic openness and more as an instrument for stabilizing and controlling meaning within the author’s rhetorical and narrative aims.

Keyword
Raḥat al-Ṣudur , Rawandi , Monroe Beardsley , closed simile , open simile , semantic tension , ornate prose.