Literary texts are works woven with signs. Authors construct texts using various signs, one of which is the iconic sign. This study focuses on the use of objects as iconic signs in Old Anatolian Turkish masnavis. Based on dimensions, iconic signs have been examined in two categories: two-dimensional and three-dimensional iconic signs. What is noteworthy in the masnavis is not only the existence of iconic signs but also that their principles are featured. These are “similarity”, “artificiality”, “inanimacy” and “concreteness”. Similarity, defined by Peirce as the fundamental principle of the icon, is based on the sign-object relationship. “Artificiality”, “inanimacy” and “concreteness” are principles proposed in this study based on the qualities of the representamen. The aim of the study is to identify the iconic signs and principles in masnavis and to reveal that while the iconic signs and purposes ofusing them may vary, the principles are unchanging and universal.
Old Anatolian Turkish, masnavi, semiotics, Charles Sanders Peirce, icon.