The Mechanism of Rhetorical Excess in Khāqānī of Shirvan’s Odes with Reference to Jeanne Fahnestock’s Theory of Rhetorical Excess

ArabYousefabadi, Faezeh

doi:10.22091/jls.2026.15075.1774

The Mechanism of Rhetorical Excess in Khāqānī of Shirvan’s Odes with Reference to Jeanne Fahnestock’s Theory of Rhetorical Excess

Document Type : Rhetoric

Author

Faezeh ArabYousefabadi

University of Zabol

10.22091/jls.2026.15075.1774

Abstract

Khāqānī of Shirvan’s Odes are among the most complex forms of Persian poetry, characterized by semantic density, rhetorical intensity, and a gradual movement of meaning that emerges through the coherence of the whole text. In many of his major Odes—especially those dealing with suffering, loss, historical crisis, and protest—Khāqānī transcends the conventional descriptive or panegyric functions of the genre and turns the qasida into an instrument of rhetorical intervention and persuasion. This study applies Jeanne Fahnestock’s theory of rhetorical excess to examine the rhetorical action of excess in Khāqānī’s Odes. The aim is to explain how rhetorical excess contributes to the formation of Khāqānī’s stylistic individuality across three interconnected analytical levels. The research method is descriptive–analytical, based on library research and close textual analysis. The findings demonstrate that rhetorical excess operates systematically on three levels: at the micro-level of expression as localized persuasive acts; at the macro-level of the qasida as a structural organizing principle; and at the discursive level as a dominant framework of meaning production that transforms personal experience into a broader existential concern. This systematic use of excess constitutes a core element of Khāqānī’s stylistic individuality. This systematic use of excess constitutes a core element of Khāqānī’s stylistic individuality.

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