Rivāyatʹshināsī-i ghazal-i Ḥāfiẓ

Shādī Aḥmadī’s Rivāyatʹshināsī-i ghazal-i Ḥāfiẓ applies concepts from narratology to the ghazals of Ḥāfiẓ, asking how lyric poems organise events, voices, temporal relations and implied situations without becoming conventional narratives. The study first introduces key ideas in narrative theory, including narrative, narrator, focalisation, voice, sequence and the relation between story and discourse. It then examines selected ghazals with more clearly discernible narrative structures and considers how dialogue, shifts of perspective, recurring motifs and implied action contribute to coherence. A further section addresses narrative metaphor and the role of figurative language in producing sequences that readers interpret as meaningful developments. By bringing modern narrative theory into conversation with classical Persian lyric poetry, the book offers a methodological study of Ḥāfiẓ and a broader contribution to Persian literary criticism, poetics and the analysis of the ghazal.