نگاهي تازه به نظم خون فشان

A New Look at the Elegiac Verse of Mohtagam of Kashan

The Tragedy of Karbala, the martyrdom of Imam Husayn and his loyal supporters in the plain of Karbala on the 10th of Muharram 61 A.H. (680 C.E.), is one of the most important events in the history of Shiʹi Islam, and it has inspired thousands of poets and artists in their work. The most moving elegy written about the events of Karbala is that of Mohta§am of Kashan (circa 905-996 A.H./1499-1587) who lived in the Safavid period. The author of this paper sets out to examine Mohtagamʹs elegy from a literary point of view, and finds that the poet has used any and every prosodic tool at his disposal to enhance the effectiveness of his language in this tragic narrative.