Dulce et Utile: A Pedagogical Inquiry into Rumi’s Story of The Lion and the Beasts of Chase

Abstract

Rumi’s opus magnum or ‘great work’ the Mathnawi provides readers with a fine example of the sugar-coated formula proposed by the leading Roman poet, Horace: “dulce et utile”: Poetry should simultaneously teach and delight the reader. The pedagogical dimension of Rumi’s work has not been much addressed by scholars and researchers; hence this study addresses the issue by drawing on the story of The lion and the Beasts of Chase from the Mathnawi. It highlights the contribution of several artistic and narrative elements to the pedagogical appeal of Rumi’s masterpiece and their educational implications for both teachers and learners. Rumi’s use of narrative techniques such as the story-within-story or the frame-story technique, allegory, symbolism, repartee and the principle of bi-polarity, allusion, repetition, and concentration or epigrammatic quality in the story suggest that he not only highlights the content of education but also the form of education; it is, indeed, the form or framework of the Mathnawi and the poet’s teaching methodology that makes it a landmark text for readers. Although the artistic unity of the work has been the subject of much critical controversy, nevertheless, this study argues for the work’s organic unity at both semantic and structural levels. A pedagogical inquiry into Rumi’s work delineates the universal charm of his art and makes the case for taking into account questions of delightful teaching.

DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2015.v6n6s1p254