دانشگاه اصفهان متن شناسی ادب فارسی 2476-3268 18 2 2026 06 22 Analyzing the Tale of "The Old Woman and the Sultan Sanjar" Based on Michel Foucault's Views on Discourse Analysis بررسی حکایت «پیرزن و سلطان سنجر» براساس آرای میشل فوکو در باب تحلیل گفتمان 1 18 30226 10.22108/rpll.2025.145731.2464 FA علی اصغر امینایی دانشجوی دکتری گروه زبان و ادبیات فارسی، دانشگاه محقق اردبیلی، اردبیل، ایران شکراله پورالخاص استاد گروه زبان و ادبیات فارسی، دانشگاه محقق اردبیلی، اردبیل، ایران 0000-0002-0899-3620 ابراهیم دانش دانشیار گروه زبان و ادبیات فارسی، دانشگاه محقق اردبیلی، اردبیل، ایران فرزاد بالو دانشیار گروه زبان و ادبیات فارسی، دانشگاه مازندران ، بابلسر، ایران Journal Article 2025 07 29 Abstract Michel Foucault, employing a genealogical and paleontological approach to knowledge, developed a new style in the historiography of social phenomena in which the concept of power plays a prominent role. He considers power not to be exclusive to formal structures, but rather to be dispersed in all social spheres, and its relations to be a vast network that has advanced to the depths of society and involves all individuals from every social base, more or less. The tale "The Old Woman and Sultan Sanjar" in Nizami’s "Makhzan ol-Asrar" is a prominent example of the representation of discourse based on power and a capable context for analyzing the discourse from Foucault's point of view. This study has studied the discourse of power in the mentioned tale using a descriptive-analytical method, and identifying the characteristics of the discourse, has analyzed the connection between floating signifiers and the central signifier, relying on them. The findings indicate that the discourse of “idealism” dominates this tale, and the fight against injustice and tyranny is one of its important characteristics. In this political-critical discourse, floating signifiers such as the old woman, the sigh of the oppressed, divine justice, and the Day of Judgment, in contrast to other floating signifiers such as Sultan Sanjar, indifference, the soldiers, oppression, etc., around the central signifier and the main theme of the discourse (seeking justice), create meaning and represent power relations. The connection of the floating signifiers in this story and their relationship with the central signifier in a precise articulation indicates a coherent discourse. Keywords: Discourse Analysis, Power Relations, Foucault, Nizami, Makhzan ol-Asrar. Introduction Foucault has offered a new form of modern “knowledge” and “power” utilizing “archaeology of knowledge” and the “genealogy of power”. According to him, individuals become subjects and objects of knowledge and power within a network of interactions, and today the system of power is more rooted and invisible than traditional systems. Such power is not necessarily political, negative, and oppressive; rather, it is the producer of reality, and the individual and his or her cognition are the products of this production. Power is fluid and widespread at all levels of society, and it imposes itself on us every day and everywhere. From Foucault’s perspective, human societies are based on a system of power, and it may be transferred or changed from one system to another. Foucault sees power in various forms: familial, local, regional, and global. From his perspective, society is the product of the connection, coordination, and hierarchy of different powers, while maintaining their specificity. Discourse, in Foucault's framework, is born from knowledge and power. Its identity depends on a network of coherent and serious propositions, which may change depending on the conditions of time. Archaeology is a method for reading the history of discourses by analyzing the structures and rules that have made their emergence possible at a specific time. Genealogy, on the other hand, analyzes the historical factors and conditions under which human knowledge emerged. Genealogy seeks to understand under what conditions and by which factors a discourse appeared at a specific moment in time. Discourse consists of a set of organized and related propositions that embody a general concept and are formulated about a particular subject during a specific period. The key elements of Foucauldian discourse analysis include connection, articulation, agency, subject, unrest, the central signifier, floating signifiers or signs, hegemony, otherness, and counter-discourse. Articulation refers to the collection of diverse elements and their combination into a new identity or the linking of signs to create a meaningful system. The central signifier is a distinct symbol around which the entire meaning system of a discourse is organized. Floating signifiers do not have a fixed meaning on their own but gain identity through interaction with the central signifier within a specific semantic field. The hegemony of a discourse is based on the coherence of the signs surrounding the central signifier. A discourse becomes hegemonic when it can align its intended meanings with the signifiers of its discourse, relying on its central signifier. However, if a competing discourse can destabilize this system of meaning using various mechanisms and disrupt the structures of meaning embedded in the collective consciousness, it loses its hegemonic status. In fact, the identity of a discourse is contingent on its "other", and, therefore, discourses constantly construct otherness in opposition to themselves. The subject or agency is a central concept in discourse, representing the capacity to think and act independently of metaphysical forces. The subject observes the object (the surrounding world, abstract concepts, etc.). Foucault argues that subjects are always obedient and are created within discourses and power practices. The identity of a discourse is formed not only through the internal consistency of its elements but also through differentiation from the "other". For example, factors such as oppression, injustice, and the sheer power of some kings are the objects that compel a subject to engage in a critical discourse and, by utilizing the archeology of science, to produce power and confront that raw power using both linguistic and non-linguistic elements. Persian literature, for centuries, has gone through periods of highs and lows under the power of the ideology and discourses of kings and their officials. "Makhzan al-Asrar" by Nezami is a manifestation of various types, relations, and centers of power and discourse related to them. Materials and Methods This research uses a descriptive-analytic method, drawing from library studies and based on the ideas of Michel Foucault, to examine the linguistic and rhetorical strategies of the tale "The Old Woman and Sultan Sanjar" and analyze the discourse of power within it. In this research, the main components of Foucauldian discourse analysis, such as archeology, genealogy, articulation, agency, subjectivity, anxiety, central signifier, and floating signifiers, hegemony, otherness, or counter-discourse, etc., are examined in a purposeful reading of this tale, and based on these components, the dominant discourse and its characteristics are identified and analyzed. Research Findings In the discourse represented in the story "The Old Woman and Sultan Sanjar", values are shaped based on the opposition between "justice" and "oppression", "good" and "evil", "world" and "afterlife", "virtue" and "vice", "right" and "wrong", and "ugly" and "beautiful". In this discourse, power centers are widespread at all social levels, imposing themselves on individuals of society every day and everywhere, and no individual or group can be unaffected or destroy them. The subject (Nizami) in the form of a feeble old woman presents ideological thoughts and concepts as floating signifiers and serious, coherent propositions related to the central signifier and main theme of the discourse (seeking justice and pleading for fairness) under the domain of "wisdom and counsel", in contrast to the object, such as Sultan Sanjar and his tyrannical agents. The floating signifiers of this story include: the old woman, oppression, Sanjar, shame, the sheriff, commotion, wine, income, crime, tyranny, justice, etc., all of which generate meaning and discourse-making around the central signifier (seeking justice and pleading for fairness). In this discourse, both the poet and the old woman are subjects, and the object is both Sultan Sanjar and could also be any other tyrannical king. Floating signifiers such as the call to Sanjar, along with successive declarative sentences about the atrocities of his mercenaries, serve to highlight the tyranny and oppression of his reign, enumerating the wrongdoings of his agents, warning Sanjar, and admonishing him about the punishment of God, the just ruler. The opposition between the frail, powerless "old woman" and the young, powerful "Sanjar" not only reflects the effectiveness and power derived from the experience of age but also shows her awareness of the outcome in an attempt to stir emotions and sentiments of the audience and exert verbal influence in the form of short, independent, and exciting phrases, highlighting the subject’s intelligence and wit in front of Sultan Sanjar. The motif of the "old woman" can be analyzed based on Foucault's archeological logic, an analysis that focuses on the internal mechanisms of discourse production. Signifiers such as "king", "oppressed," "Judgment Day", "prayer", "oppression", and "death" acquire meaning within a specific semantic network, according to specific rules of expression, and in this way, discursive actions take shape, and propositions in which these signifiers are active become part of the semantic archive of Nizami's discourse of justice-seeking. This archive not only refers to previous texts like those of Sana'i, the Quran, and Islamic wisdom, but also distances itself from them, leading to the reproduction of knowledge in a newly formulated resistance. Archaeological description here is revealed by recognizing the break between the language of power (the heavy silence of the Sultan) and the language of justice-seeking (the cries of the old woman). Discussion of Results and Conclusions The story of the Old Woman and Sultan Sanjar depicts a dominant discourse based on raw power, which is challenged by a rival discourse and hidden power, seeking to reduce its hegemony and change the power relations. Power in this story also has various types and centers, is widespread across all levels of society, and with its fluidity, imposes itself on individuals every day and everywhere. The subject (the poet), through the recreation of the political and social context of his time in the city of Ganja in the form of an allegorical narrative, displays the social inequalities and the oppression and injustice of the ruling powers and their agents over the peasants, as well as the political, economic, and social pressures of the time; a stifling and terrifying atmosphere that denies the rival or alternative discourse (the lower and oppressed classes of society) the opportunity and means to protest and express dissatisfaction. The presence of floating signifiers such as the old woman and the sheriff, and their intrusion into the old woman's personal space in the middle of the night, pulling her hair in front of the people, the smoke of the sighs of the poor, the silence of the Sultan in the face of these inequalities and injustices, etc., all reflect the chaos caused by tyranny and the king's negligence towards the foolish actions of his agents. The connection between these floating signifiers in this tale and their relation to the central signifier, in a precise articulation, indicates a coherent discourse. میشل فوکو با بهره‌گیری از رویکرد تبارشناسی و دیرینه‌شناسی دانش، سبک جدیدی را در تاریخ‌نویسی پدیده‌های اجتماعی‌ به وجود آورد که مفهوم قدرت در آن نقش برجسته‌ای دارد. وی قدرت را نه در انحصار ساختارهای رسمی، بلکه در تمام حوزه‌های اجتماعی پراکنده و مناسبات آن را شبکه‌ای گسترده می‌داند که تا اعماق جامعه پیش‌رفته است و تمام افراد از هر پایگاه‌ اجتماعی کمابیش در آن درگیرند. حکایت «پیرزن و سلطان سنجر» در مخزن‌الاسرار نظامی از نمونه‌های بارز نمایش گفتمان مبتنی بر قدرت و بستری مناسب برای تحلیل گفتمان فوکویی است. این مقاله با روش توصیفی‌تحلیلی، گفتمان قدرت را در حکایت مذکور بررسی‌ و ضمن شناسایی شاخصه‌های گفتمان‌ مذکور، با تکیه بر آنها پیوند دال‌های شناور با دال مرکزی گفتمان را تحلیل ‌کرده‌ است. یافته‌های پژوهش، نشان می‌دهد که گفتمان «ایده‌آلیسم» بر این حکایت غالب است و مبارزه با بی‌عدالتی و استبداد از شاخصه‌های مهم آن به شمار می‌رود. در این گفتمان سیاسی - انتقادی، دال‌های شناوری چون پیرزن، آه ستم‌دیدگان، عدالت الهی و روز قیامت، در تقابل با دال‌های شناور دیگری نظیر سلطان سنجر، بی‌تفاوتی، شحنگان، ظلم و ... دربارۀ دال مرکزی و تم اصلی گفتمان (عدالت‌جویی و دادخواهی) به معناسازی و بازنمایی مناسبات قدرت می‌پردازند. پیوند دال‌های شناور در این حکایت و ارتباط آنها با دال مرکزی در یک مفصل‌بندی دقیق، نشان از یک گفتمان منسجم دارد.

https://rpll.ui.ac.ir/article_30226_5dc549e4ab3508c1944bd2c0d0735a2c.pdf