Perception of Concept of Soul in Shams’ Sonnets

This research analyzes the term “soul”, one of the magnificent secret codes in Shams’ sonnets; the eternal masterpiece created by Jalal-Eddin Mohammad Balkhi. Through using the diverse functions of ‘soul’ in this analysis, the variety of its meanings are perceived and the transcendental path of this concept is known. The perception of the different concepts of ‘soul’ takes place in three steps; in the first stage the lexical concept of soul is perceived through the relation existing among synonyms, antonyms and symmetry. In the second stage, the perception of the concept of ‘soul’ happens through its attributes and adjectives. And finally in the third stage the concept of ‘soul’ is perceived by figures of speech; simile, metaphor and symbol. The authors then have studied the concept of ‘soul’ throughout the great poetry book; making an attempt to elaborate and express the concealed concepts underlying it; trying to show how ‘soul’ goes beyond a mere lexical function and finally reaches a symbolic stage; while this study shows the concepts and traits of meanings it bears within each stage