Masnavi format is usually used in composing long narrative poems and extensive topics due to the freedom in rhyme and line and the unlimited number of verses, and traditional rhetorical scholars have always referred to the length of Masnavi format poems. Nevertheless, there are very short Masnavi in Persian literature; the number of verses does not even reach ten verses. The purpose of this article is to study the course and content of this type of poem, its rhetorical aspects, and the reasons for the poet's tendency to compose them. The writing of these poems began in the sixth century, and until the eighth century, nearly a hundred short Masnavi have been written on topics such as praise, short and request letters, recording the poet's experiences, and appropriate poems. Educational needs, the desire of poets to find common meanings in non-stereotyped forms, diminishing the importance of eloquent language in poems, the needs and desires of audiences, increasing the intimacy of tone and popularity, and the Masnavi format have played an effective role in poets' tendency to compose short Masnavi.Keywords: Masnavi, Lyrical Literature, Short Masnavi, Meter.IntroductionMasnavi, as they have said, is used for long stories and anecdotes (Qeis Razi, 1314). Although this style existed in Arab literature before Persian (Dahrami, 2018), its evolution and excellence took place in Persian literature, and Persian poets were able to use its features to write long epic, lyrical, and didactic stories. In contrast to this feature, short Masnavis with limited verses can be seen in the poets' Divan (book of poems). Short Masnavis in this research mean Masnavis whose number of verses is usually less than one hundred verses (and rarely more than that), and in addition, it is considered that they do not have preface elements (such as Tahmidiyah and Naat-e Rasool (PBUH) and the like). It is not considered an independent poem that the poet has published as an independent book; therefore, these poems, like a Ghazal or an ode, a quatrain, etc., have a place in the heart of the poet’s Divan. This article seeks to show what topics short Masnavis were written on. From what century did it start, and even though other styles are more suited to non-extensive and broad topics, what were the reasons for the poets' tendency towards short Masnavis? Literature ReviewIt seems that the first person to write an independent work in the field of Masnavi was Ali Ebrahim Khalil Khan Banarasi, who dedicated his summary of words to the lives of approximately seventy-seven poets of Masnavi and a summary of 188 Masnavis. Another piece of research was carried out by Molavi Agha Ahmad Ali Ahmad, the owner of Haft Aseman Tazkirah, who brought the lives and works of more than ninety Masnavi authors into his work. In recent decades, this important poetic form has been examined many times. Mohammad Ali Tarbiat conducted the first research of this century and published the result in a series of articles (eight articles) titled "Iranian Masnavi and Masnavigouyan" in Mehr magazine. Unfortunately, in this research, no attention has been paid to shortened Masnavis, and as far as the author knows, no research has been done in this field.3.MethodologyThis research has been carried out using the descriptive-analytical method and is based on data extracted from library studies. 101 short Masnavis were collected and analyzed by referring to Divan and the complete works of different poets up to the 8th century.A look at the history of Persian literature shows that many Masnavis are short and sometimes have less than ten verses. According to what is available, short Masnavis started in the sixth century, and up to the eighth century, a total of 101 short Masnavis by different poets remained. The longest Masnavi has 125 verses and is by Kamaluddin Ismail, and the smallest has 2 verses, and the number of them is 27 and is by poets such as Hassan Dehlavi and Saadi. One of the oldest short Masnavis was written by the author of Chahar Maqaleh (four articles written in 550/551). and he included two of his verses in Chahar Maqaleh:بسا جایی که محمودش بنا کردنبینی زآن همه یک خشت بر پای که از رفعت همی با مه مرا کردثناء عنصری مانده ست بر جای(نظامی عروضی، 1327: 46)One of the effective motivations for the tendency of poets towards short Masnavis is the emergence of successful examples of long Persian works in the form of Masnavis in various literary genres, to such an extent that poets who have not sought to compose long Masnavis. Due to the existence of popular and successful works in the form of Masnavi, they have also turned to it for composing short poems.The characteristics of the Masnavi format have also been effective in the spread of short Masnavis. The most suitable format for anecdote poems is Masnavi, and many of the most famous Persian poems also contain anecdotes. From this point of view, when a poet does not want to write a long verse containing various anecdotes if he intends to compose a short anecdote, he uses this form again under the influence of those verses. Another reason for this tendency is the poet's short experiences. Sometimes the poet's experience is not short enough to be included in the form of quatrains, two verses, and one verse, nor is it wide enough to be expressed in an ode. This issue has caused the poet to be inclined towards the form of Masnavi, which has no limit in terms of quantity.In terms of content, short Masnavis include various topics such as educational, praise, anecdotes and short stories, letter writing, and describing the current situation and experiences of the poet. Some of the poems are in the form of poems and short letters with different topics. One of the oldest examples of it is a Masnavi by Zaheer Faryabi in seventeen verses addressed to Ghazal Arsalan. Another type of short Masnavis is the description of the speaker's personal emotions and feelings and his approach to his own or others' experiences, which is usually written in a short and non-narrative manner. Madh (praise) is one of the other topics of short Masnavis, which entered this type of Masnavis from the 7th century, as Hassan Dehlavi dedicated several Masnavis to praise. A significant part of the short Masnavis consists of special poems. These occasions include things like marriage, birth, the construction of places and mansions, etc. Hassan Dehlavi is one of the poets who paid much attention to these topics in his Masnavis. Some poets have recorded moral issues or educational topics in short Masnavis without writing independent verses with educational goals. Among these poets is Ibn Yamin, who chose the Masnavi as the form of the stanza to express his teachings and sermons and wrote several short moral Masnavis. ConclusionAlthough the form of Masnavi is mostly used for writing long narrative poems and extensive topics, there are many examples in the Divan (book of poems) of some poets that are short and have few verses. The tendency of poets toward this type of poetry has various reasons. The provision of more freedom in this format, educational and teaching needs, expressing meanings in new structures and formats, diminishing the importance of fancy language in poems, adding the intimacy of the tone, the needs and desires of the audience, and the prevalence and popularity of the form of Masnavi are among these reasons. The beginning of the short Masnavis is from the 6th century, and it has reached the audience in the form of poetic letters. After that, various subjects have been used by poets in composing Masnavis. Recording of the poet's experiences, the order of short and independent stories, praise, poetic letters, advice and sermons, and educational topics are among other topics of short Masnavis.