An Examination of the Themes of Old Age and Youth in the Poetry of Rudaki Samarqandi

Abstract

Rudaki Samarqandi, the first great poet of New Persian and the founder of the Khorasani style, presents in the surviving verses of his Divan a rich, concrete, and multilayered portrayal of the phenomenon of old age. Although previous studies have examined his poetry from such perspectives as discourse analysis, stylistics, and comparative analysis with Khayyamian thought, relatively little attention has been paid to the systematic identification and classification of the constituent components of the theme of old age throughout Rudaki’s Divan. Employing a descriptive-analytical method and relying on documentary and library-based research, the present study seeks to address this gap. The findings indicate that the components of old age in Rudaki’s poetry can be classified into four broad categories: physical signs (including tooth loss, a stooped posture, graying hair, impaired vision, and sensory decline); psychological and cognitive consequences (sluggishness of poetic temperament, hardening of the heart, and diminished vitality); emotional, social, and economic consequences (the loss of the beloved, wealth, and courtly status); and philosophical-cosmological perspectives (the cyclical nature of the world and divine determinism). An examination of the poetic imagery employed also demonstrates that the metaphor of “the cypress and the crooked form” and the symbolic combination of “staff and bag” are among Rudaki’s principal rhetorical devices for representing old age. Despite his desire to escape it, his overall attitude toward this phenomenon ultimately reflects a bitter and regretful acceptance rather than an angry protest—a characteristic consistent with his position as the founder of the Khorasani style and as a faithful narrator of lived experience.