Foregrounding and the Aesthetic Functions of Hyperbole in the Kush-nama Based on Russian Formalist Theory

Abstract

Epic poems provide a fertile ground for the creation of images that transcend ordinary human experience and sensory perception. In this context, the rhetorical device of “hyperbole” is not merely an instrument for embellishing discourse; rather, it functions as a mechanism for establishing an epic tone and constructing the textual world. The present study aims to analyze the aesthetic and formal functions of hyperbole in the Kush-nama, composed by Iranshan ibn Abi al-Khayr, drawing on Russian Formalist theory, particularly the concepts of defamiliarization, foregrounding, and semantic deviation. The fundamental research problem concerns how the poet, through the disruption of logical and material relations, elevates the audience’s perception beyond the level of ordinary apprehension and renders events strange, extraordinary, and wondrous. This study employs a descriptive-analytical method based on library research and is organized through the extraction and classification of hyperbolic verses from the poem. The findings indicate that hyperbole in the Kush-nama operates on three fundamental levels: first, the defamiliarization of the objective scales of battle and the transformation of the physical dimensions of time and space; second, semantic deviation at the cosmic level, including the passivity and fear of celestial bodies; at the perceptual and sensory level, including the transmission of sonic vibrations to the depths of the waters and the heights of the heavens; and at the quantitative level, including the profusion of bloodshed, death, and the exhaustion of the earth; and third, its constructive interaction with other rhetorical devices, such as condensed similes and the personification of phenomena. The cumulative effect of these mechanisms is the transformation of narrative language into a self-contained structure and the creation of an awe-inspiring and immeasurable atmosphere that compels the audience to engage in aesthetic contemplation of the magnitude of the battles.