Surveying the Letter of Mas'ud I of Ghazni to Arsalan Khan in Tārīkh-i Bayhaqī Using Fairclough's Critical Discourse Analysis

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

Mohaddeseh Godsi

Mohammad-Jafar Yahaqghi

Mah -dokht Pour khaleghi

10.22067/jls.v47i1.18875

Abstract

Critical discourse analysis has proved to be of great help in analyzing the form and meaning of literary works. Certain scholars such as Norman Fairclough have greatly improved such studies. The present study deals with one of the political letters of Mas'ud I of Ghazni to Arsalan Khan written by his secretary Abul-Fazl Bayhaqi. The complete version of the letter has been recorded in Bayhaqi’s history. Using Fairclough's method, the article tries to study power relations. In this letter, Bayhaqi carefully employs diction, grammatical structure (e.g. active and passive voices), and modality to show the king’s power even after his Dandanghan failure.

Keywords

Tārīkh-i Bayhaqī

Mas'ud I of Ghazni

Arsalan Khan

letter

critical discourse analysis

Fairclough

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