The Metaphors of Fire, Water, and Tears in Gol's Letter in Section 59 of the Khosrow Nameh
In Section 59 of the Khosrow Nameh, Farid al-Din Attar depicts Gol writing a letter to Khosrow, utilizing classic Persian romantic metaphors of fire (atash), water (ab), and tears (ashk). Gol describes her state of writing as being suspended 'between water and fire,' where her fiery sighs threaten to burn the paper and pen, while her overwhelming tears flood the earth like a sea. She further emphasizes her devotion by stating that her eye's pupil wrote the letter with her heart's blood and eyelashes, mixing the black ink with her tears. These hyperbolic images illustrate the intense suffering and complete emotional engulfment of the lover, whose physical writing process itself becomes an expression of spiritual agony and absolute devotion.
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Humanities
Literature
Persian Literature Prerequisite Course