Persuasion Mechanisms in Bilqis Story in Surat An-Naml

Abstract

Linguistic Argumentation Theory offers new conceptions of meaning. It is one of the novel semantic theories that seek to uncover the logic of language: the internal rules of discourse governing the order of words and their gradual sequence. Relying on this theory, the present paper highlights the argumentative aspects and their persuasive mechanisms in the feminist argumentation found in Bilqis’s speech. It sheds light on the objectives of this argumentation, the contexts in which it occurs, and what distinguishes it from other types of argumentation. The paper paid attention to the argumentative discourse used by Bilqis and attempted to deconstruct the argumentative structures it is made up of. It highlighted some of her personal qualities, namely reason and good governance. It observed a shift in discourse levels. While Bilqis was the one directing the discourse, especially in the first section when she was the Queen, she seemed to be the weakest link in the second section; her speech was characterized by gentleness and leniency.