Persian Literature

Persian Literature

Rhetorical Strategies of Audience Persuasion in the Mansha’at of Farhād Mīrzā

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors
somaye aghababaei 1
amirhoseyn jamali 2
1 allametabatabaei university
2 allame tabatabai
10.22059/jpl.2025.396406.2314
Abstract
Language is one of the most essential tools for human communication, expressed through both written and oral forms. Persuading the audience through language is a deliberate effort in which the writer conveys messages using influential rhetorical techniques. Authors in various literary and historical texts employ tools such as poetry, religious quotations, musicality of language, admonition, reverence, and exaggeration—depending on the contextual framework—to persuade their audience. Farhād Mīrzā Mo‘tamad al-Dawla, a notable statesman and man of letters during the reign of Nāṣer al-Dīn Shāh Qājār, makes extensive use of rhetorical strategies in many of his writings, particularly in his letters addressed to eminent figures and officials of his time. His Manshaʾāt consists of 47 historical and literary letters composed in both ornate and occasionally plain styles, addressing a variety of themes such as recounting events, administrative reports, grievances, and requests. The writer, depending on the context of the letter and the status and authority of the recipient, employs different rhetorical devices. This study examines the 47 letters using both qualitative and quantitative methods. One of the key findings is that the technique of “intertextual citation of poetry and sacred texts” holds the highest frequency across all contexts—especially in political letters and those addressed to dignitaries—indicating the author’s effort to construct rhetorical authority through intertextuality. Additionally, the frequent use of admonition and indirect warnings in political letters reflects strategies of persuasion embedded within power structures. In contrast, in personal correspondence, strategies such as reverence and self-deprecation are most prevalent, reflecting the role of emotional politeness and face management in interpersonal relations.
Keywords
Audience persuasion
rhetorical strategies
Farhād Mīrzā
Qājār era
Manshaʾāt
Subjects
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Persian Literature
Volume 15, Issue 1 - Serial Number 35
September 2025
Pages 99-120