Phonological Stylistics of Saif Farghani’s Ghazals

Abstract

The phonological layer is one of the crucial components in layered stylistics, aimed at identifying phonemic processes, metrical patterns, radif (refrain), rhyme defects, and lexical devices across different layers of a text. This stylistic approach, relying on linguistic methods, seeks to uncover factors that influence the macrostructure of a text, ultimately contributing to the literary structure and textual cohesion of a work. Accordingly, the present study employs a descriptive-analytical method to examine the stylistic components of the phonological layer in the ghazals of Saif Farghani. The results indicate that the poet extensively employs deletion and substitution processes among the phonemic operations. In the mutafaq al-arakan (uniform meter) patterns, the ramal meter is the most frequent, while the rajaz meter occurs least frequently; in the mutanābil al-arakan (alternating meter) patterns, the modara‘ meter is most frequent, and the sari‘ meter is least frequent in Saif Farghani’s ghazals. The use of duri (remote) meters is also recognized as a stylistic feature of his ghazals. In peripheral music, verbal radifs exhibit the highest frequency, whereas consonantal radifs show the lowest. The frequent use of verbal radifs suggests that this element is not merely a musical device in Saif Farghani’s ghazals but forms a nucleus around which the poet’s emotional worldview is constructed. Rhyme is employed to serve meaning and enrich the musicality of the poetry. Internal music, in addition to creating a multisensory poetic experience, significantly contributes to phonological harmony and poetic pleasure.