Networks of Ambiguity and Multilayered Meaning in the Poetry of Khwaju Kermani

Abstract

Ambiguity is one of the most intricate and masterfully crafted rhetorical devices, endowing poetry with depth, multilayeredness, and an inexhaustible capacity for interpretation. This article focuses on one couplet by Khwaju Kermani, delving into its concealed semantic layers and the network of embedded ambiguities. Through an analytical and comparative approach, it is demonstrated how each lexical element in this couplet carries multiple layers of ambiguity, which—interwoven with literary tradition, material culture, and even the psychology of love—evoke diverse and at times contradictory meanings in the reader’s mind. Drawing upon textual and intertextual evidence, the study identifies and analyzes various forms of īhām, including īhām mursal (extended ambiguity), īhām tanāsob (associative ambiguity), īhām tabādur (immediate ambiguity), allusive ambiguity, and even musical ambiguity. It further illustrates how Khwaju, by exploiting these capacities, not only creates a vivid and theatrical portrayal of love and the beloved’s power but also transforms poetry into an arena for active engagement with the reader and for the endless recreation of meaning. Alongside presenting historical and comparative examples, this research examines the narrative, aesthetic, cognitive, and even ontological functions of ambiguity in Persian poetry, revealing that one of the principal reasons for the endurance and impact of Khwaju’s verse lies in these subtle and multilayered semantic plays. The article invites readers on a journey into the depths of language and imagination, encouraging them to rediscover the pleasure and wonder embedded in Persian poetry.