دانشگاه اصفهان متن شناسی ادب فارسی 2476-3268 18 2 2026 06 22 Discourse Analysis of Advice to Kings as a Tool for the Reproduction of Power (Case Study: Makhzan al-Asrār) تحلیل گفتمان نصیحت به پادشاهان به عنوان ابزار بازتولید قدرت (مطالعه موردی: مخزن‌الاسرار نظامی) 101 120 30172 10.22108/rpll.2025.146690.2501 FA زهرا امینی شلمزاری دانش آموخته دکتری زبان و ادبیات فارسی، دانشگاه اصفهان، اصفهان، ایران Journal Article 2025 09 16 Abstract Makhzan al-Asrār, the first poetic work of Nezami Ganjavi, was composed in his youth and consists of twenty chapters that employ didactic narratives to promote moral refinement and spiritual education. In addition to addressing individual and mystical themes, Nezami articulates critical messages directed at kings and rulers. His language in these addresses is sharp, admonitory, and critical, drawing attention to the deficiencies of power—particularly injustice and administrative inefficiency. By foregrounding justice and generosity, Nezami constructs an idealized image of righteous governance. This study applies Fairclough’s model of critical discourse analysis to examine the linguistic mechanisms through which advice to kings is articulated in Makhzan al-Asrār. The findings indicate that the discourse of advice performs a clear ideological function: language plays a central role in reproducing power relations and social values by maintaining a balance between warning and respect, legitimizing critique, restraining undesirable royal conduct, highlighting the image of the ideal king, and ultimately reinforcing divine justice and social order. Keywords: Critical Discourse Analysis, Fairclough, Advice, King, Power. Introduction Didactic literature, through both direct and indirect strategies, seeks to promote ethical virtues and cultivate human behavior, primarily by means of advice and moral instruction in both poetry and prose. Many literary texts extend beyond aesthetic pleasure or emotional expression to convey specific ideological messages that guide individuals toward ethical and educational ideals. Among such texts, advice and admonition directed at kings occupy a particularly significant position due to the political authority and elevated social status of rulers. The hierarchical nature of monarchic systems restricted direct criticism, compelling intellectuals and writers to employ narrative devices such as anecdotes, parables, and allegories to warn rulers indirectly against tyranny, abuse of power, and injustice. This tradition, rooted in the Sasanian period and strengthened after the advent of Islam through religious discourse, persisted in Persian literature, as reflected in works such as Ibn Muqaffaʿ’s Al-Adab al-Kabīr, Khwaja Nizam al-Mulk’s Siyāsatnāma, and Al-Ghazali’s Naṣīḥat al-Mulūk. In poetry, this tradition also found expression, with Nezami Ganjavi’s Makhzan al-Asrār standing out as a prominent example. Alongside mystical and ethical reflections, Nezami employs a sharp and critical language to guide kings toward justice and generosity. From the perspective of Fairclough’s critical discourse analysis, Makhzan al-Asrār can be interpreted as a discourse that linguistically constructs political legitimacy while simultaneously reproducing power through ethical and religious frameworks. Critical discourse analysis conceptualizes language as a social practice that shapes identities, social relations, and belief systems, with each text actively participating in these processes. Fairclough’s three-dimensional model—text, discursive practice, and social practice—operates through the stages of description, interpretation, and explanation: description focuses on linguistic form, interpretation examines contextual and intertextual relations, and explanation addresses underlying social and ideological structures. Materials and Methods This study adopts a qualitative text-based approach grounded in Fairclough’s three-dimensional model of critical discourse analysis. At the descriptive level, the linguistic and syntactic features of selected verses are examined. At the interpretative level, intertextual relations and the interaction between the poet’s discourse and its audience are analyzed. At the explanatory level, the relationship between discourse and broader social, cultural, and ideological structures is explored. The unit of analysis consists of purposefully selected verses from Makhzan al-Asrār, chosen for their relevance to the discourse of advice and admonition. This methodological framework enables a systematic and comprehensive examination of both the linguistic strategies and the socio-ideological functions of advisory discourse in Nezami’s work. Research Findings The tradition of advising kings in Makhzan al-Asrār functions not merely as moral exhortation but as an ideological and discursive mechanism shaped by interactional norms and power relations. Through re-lexicalization and the use of neutral or negatively charged expressions, the poet maintains a delicate balance between reverence and warning. Simultaneously, the employment of overwording and the repetition of lexical items—such as woman, justice, and willpower—both reflect the prevailing gendered value system of the time and urge the king to adhere to ethical conduct. Semantic contrast, particularly through comparisons with former rulers or apparent manifestations of power, serves to reconstruct royal identity and undermine the illusion of absolute authority. Euphemism, especially in portraying the ideal king, implicitly draws attention to the shortcomings of the actual ruler. Linguistically, shifts in expressive value, along with the strategic use of metaphor and positively connoted expressions, enhance the persuasive force of advice. Attribution to external agents functions as a legitimizing strategy, reducing the risk associated with direct confrontation. The concurrent use of positive and negative clauses follows two parallel trajectories: constraining undesirable behaviors and foregrounding the model of the ideal ruler. Imperative modality reflects the superior position of the advisor, while interrogative modality is employed either to redefine the penitent king’s identity or to legitimize critique articulated from lower social positions. Modality choice is closely linked to social hierarchy: higher-status speakers tend to use expressive modality with weaker obligation, whereas lower-status speakers rely on relational modality, producing stronger forms of obligation. At the situational level of interpretation, variations between formal and informal language, command and prohibition, or allegory and anecdote correspond to degrees of risk and courtly context. At the intertextual level, references to authoritative texts—Qur’anic verses and Hadiths—provide divine legitimation and activate the king’s religious consciousness. At the explanatory level, figures such as elders or dream-guides reflect deeply rooted cultural beliefs, elevating advice beyond the personal sphere. Discussion of Results and Conclusions Considering the results of the present study, at the lexical level, the use of neutral and respectful vocabulary elevates the discourse from interpersonal interaction to an ethical and intertextual plane. Conversely, negatively charged expressions serve a critical function by disrupting the idealized image of kingship. Lexical repetition operates rhetorically to foreground central concepts, reinforce admonition, and emphasize the consequences of neglecting the people and the transience of worldly power. Through semantic opposition between justice and injustice, the poet intensifies the moral contrast and urges unjust rulers toward ethical reform. Euphemistic language enables respectful critique, preserving the dignity of the addressee while fulfilling the advisory function. At the syntactic level, moderated sentence structures and indirect attribution mitigate confrontation and reduce perceived threat. The strategic use of proverbs, Qur’anic verses, and Hadiths further enhances receptivity and legitimizes the advisory discourse. Finally, the incorporation of social mechanisms—such as the authoritative presence of elders and wise counselors—strengthens the persuasive impact of advice and guides it toward its intended outcome. Nezami’s counsel to kings thus transcends individual moral reform, pursuing a broader objective: the establishment of divinely sanctioned justice and the preservation of social order and stability. منظومه مخزن‌الاسرار، نخستین اثر منظوم نظامی گنجوی، در دوره جوانی او به نظم درآمده است. ساختار این اثر متشکل از بیست مقاله است که در قالب حکایت‌های تعلیمی به پرورش اخلاق و تربیت عرفانی انسان می‌پردازد؛ با این حال توجه نظامی تنها به مفاهیم فردی یا عرفانی معطوف نمی‌شود؛ بلکه به سبب شرایط سیاسی و اجتماعی زمان خود خطاب‌های انتقادی مؤثری نیز به پادشاهان و صاحبان قدرت اختصاص می‌دهد. در این خطاب‌ها زبان شاعر به جای مدح و ستایش رایج رویکردی گزنده، هشداردهنده و انتقادی دارد؛ زیرا هدف بازنمایی کاستی‌های قدرت به‌ویژه بی‌عدالتی، ظلم و ناکارآمدی کارگزاران حکومتی است. نظامی در برابر این امور با برجسته‌سازی مفاهیمی چون عدالت و بخشش، الگوی آرمانی از حکومت عادلانه ترسیم می‌کند. در این پژوهش کوشش می‌شود با بهره‌گیری از تحلیل گفتمان انتقادی فرکلاف و مدل سه‌بعدی او سازوکارهای زبانی و گفتمانی نصیحت به پادشاهان در مخزن‌الاسرار ارزیابی شود. نتایج به‌دست‌آمده نشان می‌دهد که سنت نصیحت در مخزن‌الاسرار نظامی کارکردی ایدئولوژیک دارد؛ به این معنا که زبان متن فقط وسیله انتقال معنا نیست؛ بلکه نقش مهمی در بازتولید قدرت و ارزش‌های اجتماعی دارد و توازن میان هشدار، احترام و مشروعیت‌بخشی به نقد را آشکار می‌سازد. نظامی از طریق نصیحت همزمان به محدودساختن رفتارهای نامطلوب پادشاه و برجسته‌سازی الگوی شاه آرمانی پرداخته است. در سطح کلان، هدف اصلی این سنت، تثبیت عدالت الهی و تضمین نظم اجتماعی از طریق بازتعریف هویت و مسئولیت‌های پادشاه است.

https://rpll.ui.ac.ir/article_30172_e405a90fdc3182d0eace6995908d857d.pdf