extraction.sufi.rumi.mesnevi.reed_flute_separation_longing

extraction.sufi.rumi.mesnevi.reed_flute_separation_longing

---
record_id: extraction.sufi.rumi.mesnevi.reed_flute_separation_longing
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/mesnevi-book-1-redhouse.md
passage_locator:
  label: The Mesnevi, Book I, Proem, The Reed-Flute
  start: lines 5400
  end: lines 5429
  translation: Sir James W. Redhouse, Project Gutenberg eBook
  notes: Stable line locator from canonical Markdown; public-domain translation of
    Book I.
canonical_text:
  quote: |
    From reed-flute[55] hear what tale it tells;
    What plaint it makes of absence' ills:

    "From jungle-bed since me they tore,
    Men's, women's, eyes have wept right sore.
  language: English
  quote_policy: short_public_domain_excerpt
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
  text: The proem asks the reader to hear the reed-flute's tale.
  category: speech
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:1
- id: obs:2
  text: The reed-flute speaks of being torn from its original bed.
  category: action
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:1
- id: obs:3
  text: The passage links the flute's wail with absence, grief, longing, and love.
  category: attribute
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:1
figures:
- id: fig:1
  name_or_label: reed-flute
  description: Separated instrument whose sound becomes speech for absence and longing.
  role_refs:
  - role:1
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:1
- id: fig:2
  name_or_label: absent lover
  description: The implied spiritual subject whose longing is voiced through the flute.
  role_refs:
  - role:2
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:1
roles:
- id: role:1
  label: symbolic speaker
  assigned_to:
  - fig:1
  basis: The proem tells the reader to hear the reed-flute's tale and plaint.
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:1
- id: role:2
  label: seeker in separation
  assigned_to:
  - fig:2
  basis: The passage says the absent lover's flute proclaims grief and joy.
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:1
symbols:
- id: sym:1
  label: reed-flute
  literal_form: musical reed cut from its bed
  associated_figures:
  - fig:1
  taxonomy_refs:
  - mystical_quest
  - divine_beloved
  - sacred_song
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:1
- id: sym:2
  label: separation
  literal_form: removal from the reed-bed and longing to return
  associated_figures:
  - fig:1
  - fig:2
  taxonomy_refs:
  - departure
  - return
  - divine_beloved
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:1
scenes:
- id: scene:1
  label: Reed-flute voices the pain of separation
  summary: The reed-flute speaks as a cut-off being whose music carries absence, longing,
    and love.
  figure_refs:
  - fig:1
  - fig:2
  symbol_refs:
  - sym:1
  - sym:2
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:1
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
  label: longing for return to source
  taxonomy_refs:
  - mystical_quest
  - divine_beloved
  - departure
  - return
  basis: The reed-flute's song begins from separation and turns absence into the desire
    for return.
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:1
  confidence: high
  cautions: The divine referent is symbolic in this passage and should be interpreted
    in the larger Masnavi context.
- id: motif:2
  label: sacred song as wound and medicine
  taxonomy_refs:
  - sacred_song
  - wisdom
  basis: The flute's sound carries grief and joy, making music a vehicle of spiritual
    teaching.
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:1
  confidence: medium
  cautions: Sacred song is inferred from the proem's symbolic use of musical voice.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
  claim: This passage belongs beside other quest patterns where exile or separation
    awakens the desire to return to a sacred source.
  claim_level: same_function
  target: pattern.mystical_quest
  evidence_refs:
  - ev:1
  counter_evidence_refs: []
  confidence: medium
  limitations: The passage is lyric and symbolic, not a literal travel episode.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
  type: quote_and_summary
  locator: The Mesnevi, Book I, Proem, lines 5400-5429
  quote_or_summary: The reed-flute tells of absence from its reed-bed and voices the
    grief and joy of the absent lover.
  source_text_path: texts/public-domain/sufi/project-gutenberg/mesnevi-book-1-redhouse.md
  rights_note: Public-domain Project Gutenberg source text.
confidence:
  extraction: high
  motif_candidates: medium
  comparison_claims: medium
  notes: The literal musical and separation imagery is explicit; mystical return should
    be reviewed against additional Masnavi passages.
reviewer_status:
  status: draft
  notes: Draft extraction; verify line locator after future reformatting.
extracted_by: Codex
extracted_at: '2026-04-27'
notes: Seed extraction for Sufi longing, sacred song, and the return-to-source form
  of mystical quest.