Exploring Syntactic Ambiguity and Deep Structure Transformations in the translations Rumi's Mystical Poetry: A Generative Grammar Perspective

Abstract

This paper aims at understanding how the element of mysticism in the selected work of Rumi can be explored via linguistic theory principles such as generative grammar and syntactic ambiguity. By deconstructing surface and deep structures, this study unveils the intricate interplay between language and meaning in six poems: “The Guest House”, “The Marriage of True Minds”, “Where There is Ruin”, “Silence is the Language of God”, “Only Breath” and “Out Beyond Ideas”. These poems are analyzed to decode the mystical meanings hidden in linguistic ambivalences. In “The Guest House”, the metaphor that applies to human life as a ‘guest house’ is studied under the view of syntactic doublet, which corresponds to Sufi conceptions of tenderness and receptiveness. In “The Marriage of True Minds”, love and unity are aligned, which shows how conditional syntax accords with the Sufism perspective of love. This research demonstrates how Rumi’s syntactical creativity supports the theoretical frameworks of multiple readings under the light of mystic wisdom. The insights established in this research yield the concept of analyzing the structure of Rumi’s poem, as well as the relation between language and spirituality.