Abstract
Various Animal Analogy and Representations in Sadi’s Gulistan
Human beings have been trying to understand and explain things and nature since their existence. For this reason, he tried to make sense of the unknown and to name it by referring to the known. Like human beings, animals are created with various characteristics and motives. Human has been intertwined with animals since his creation; he has used them according to his characteristics, while he has shunned some of the animals. Man has grasped almost all the features of these beings he has been with for thousands of years. Many mythological narratives have featured animals. In naming or describing new beings and objects, he also made them more comprehensible by likening them to animals. These animal similitudes have evolved over time and become an element of eloquence. Sadi-yi Shirazi, one of the famous writers of Persian literature in the XIIIth century, frequently benefited from these literary arts in his work Gulistan, in which he narrated his life experiences in a witty way. Sadi has used numerous examples of analogy related to animals. Poets of the Ottoman Classical period also wrote numerous poems decorated with animal similitude and representations. Even works where animals are used as protoganists have been written. This study dealt with the description and representations of animals in the mythological narratives of various nations in the path shown by these data. The animals in Gulistan were classified and titled and the characteristics of these animals used in literature were mentioned. In addition, examples of these animals used as metaphorical statements are given from the Divan poetry. Later, Sadi's examples in Gulistan were discussed.
Keywords
Divan Poetry, Sadi-yi Şirazi, Gulistan, Animal Analogy and Representations.