The Poetic Names and Epithets of "the Beloved" in the lyric Poetry of Khaghani, Nezami and Sa'di

In Persian lyric poetry, "the beloved" plays a fundamental and decisive role. In fact, one of the themes which has always been the focus of attention in Persian lyric poetry is "the lover and the beloved". It has been a theme which, for long ages and in each period of Persian literature, has drawn a special attitude to it as well. The present article considers the above-mentioned poets' imaginative descriptions of "the beloved"; the poetic names and epithets they have given them; for instance (the beloved), Mehrab (the alter), Namak (salt), Ghandil (icicle). It also deals with the matters of imitation and innovation in giving names and epithets, the most frequently used figures of speech in their poem, and the frequency of the utilized figures of speech in their poems. A quick glance would indicate that the names and epithets are most often the same; however, the intended meanings of their identical similes are different. As a matter of fact, the delicacy of the poets' creative imagination arises from their unique powers, capabilities and tactfulness in handling being economical of time and space but only one citation has been offered for each of the poetic names and epithets given to "the beloved". Since, Nezami, compared with Khaqani and Sa'di has fewer lyrical poems, it has been attempted to keep the amount of each poet's lyrical poetry in mind and give the citations in proportion to the percentage of their contributions to lyrical poetry. In the conclusion, these names and epithets have been compared and graphically charted, which can be also studied from a stylistic perspective.