Simile or Metaphor in a Prescribed Couplet
An HSC candidate is analysing a prescribed couplet: «ای دوست، غم عشق تو در سینه نهان است داغ تو چو خورشید به دل تابان است» The question asks: «در مصراع دوم کدام آرایه به کار رفته است؟» The candidate writes: «استعاره، چون داغ تو خورشید نیست; واژهٔ چو فقط برای روانی وزن است.» A second candidate writes: «تشبیه، چون چو نشانهٔ تشبیه است.» The teacher says both have part of the truth but the first answer misnames the device. The couplet has no title or poet given, and the candidate must not rely on memorised labels. In the same answer, the candidate must also identify radif and qaafiya. The candidate has 10 minutes and may write 60 words.
1. Name the device in «داغ تو چو خورشید» and explain why «چو» cannot be dismissed as filler.
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The phrase is a simile (تشبیه): «داغ تو» is the tenor, «خورشید» is the vehicle, and «چو» is the explicit comparator. Removing «چو» would produce a metaphor, but with «چو» present the comparison is openly signalled. «چو» is not filler; it is the grammatical signal of resemblance and it controls the interpretation: the grief is like the sun in heat and brightness. The candidate's claim that «داغ تو» is not literally the sun is true, but that does not make the phrase a metaphor. A metaphor asserts identity; a simile signals resemblance.
2. Identify qaafiya and radif, and correct the common confusion.
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Qaafiya: «نهان / تابان» - the rhyming words ending in -ān. Radif: «است», repeated after the qaafiya in both lines. The common error is to treat the repeated verb as part of the rhyme. A quick test: remove «است»; the lines still rhyme on «نهان / تابان». If a word repeats after the rhyme, it is radif, not qaafiya.
3. How does the simile support the theme of concealed love?
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There is a deliberate tension: the grief is نهان in the chest, yet the brand of love is تابان in the heart like the sun. The simile makes the hidden grief visible and burning. Love is concealed socially, but it cannot be concealed inwardly. The sun image also suggests heat and public brightness, so the device sharpens the paradox rather than merely decorating the line.