An Analysis of the Function of Animal Symbols in Persian Proverbs Based on Bahmanyari Story Book

Although proverbs possess clear, logical and semantic structures, the use of some rhetorical elements has, in addition to making the proverbs more beautiful and effective, given depth and strength to their concepts and made them more reflective.  One of these elements is the "symbol". In this article, we will illustrate the symbolic role of animals in proverbs. The purpose of this study is to analyze the quality and quantity of applying animal symbols in proverbs and the number of animal symbols used in making proverbs. The main body of the paper presents the statistical charts and analysis of examples of proverbs listing the various animal names in the subgroups of domestic animals, non-domestic animals, birds and insects.The present study is a library research and has been conducted based on a descriptive-analytical approach while implementing statistical methods by studying 6047 proverbs used in the Bahmanyari Story Book. In the end, it was found that, quantitatively, maximum animal symbols  used include domestic animals with a percentage of 48.6 and the lowest frequency of animal symbols belong to the birds' group with a percentage of 8.7. The major reasons for using animal symbols in proverbs may be pointed out as making abstract concepts objective and more tangible, making proverbs attractive, brevity of speech, and avoiding direct vulgar and sarcastic address