Persian Literature

Abstract One of the first steps writers took in crafting their contemporary stories was the writing of historical novels. Traditionally, historical novels are grounded in the events of a specific period in history, exploring the ontology of the people of that time; they reflect those individuals' psychological, emotional, and behavioral characteristics, and reconstruct the social and political conditions of the era. These early novels were primarily written to reflect a character's life or a historical event and had a more educational aspect (raising awareness about history) for their audiences. However, the philosophical perspectives of the twentieth century cast doubt on the existence of a singular truth (and consequently, on the existence of only one possible narrative). Therefore, it must be acknowledged that as the definition of history changes, so too does the definition of the historical novel, leading to a new genre of historical fiction that is not limited to representing historical events as they appear in historical accounts. Instead, contemporary writers strive to focus on individuals' perceptions of reality, the impact of various perspectives on historical events, skepticism towards history, and a critical view of historical occurrences. Additionally, with the advancement of storytelling, the elements of narrative in these new historical novels have evolved, distancing themselves from the traditional forms that resembled tales and stories of classical literature. This research is a descriptive-analytical study that aims to demonstrate, using the overarching historical approach of Hayden White (an American historian and philosopher) and the narrative theory of Gérard Genette (a French theorist and semiotician), that with the transformation of the historical novel's definition, both its formal and content characteristics also change. Thus, this study analyzes six historical novels written after the Islamic Revolution in terms of content and some narrative and structural features, such as narrative order, frequency, perspective (focalization), characterization, and time and place in the story. Based on this redefinition, three types of historical novels have been identified in the four decades following the victory of the Islamic Revolution, based on content: novels that address neglected aspects of history; novels that reflect the individual and social identity of Iranians while detailing historical events in the traditional historical novel format; and novels that question historical events and approach history with a critical perspective. The structural and narrative characteristics of these three types of novels include the use of first-person narration and internal focalization, which allows the author to present events from the viewpoint of a character in the story, highlighting that individual's perspective on the historical event. There is also a non-linear narrative structure, the use of analepsis, and a modern narrative style that distances these stories from traditional storytelling. The abundance of characters and the focus on overlooked figures in historical accounts, such as women and marginalized individuals, as well as the significance of non-historical characters in shaping events and a novel approach to the elements of time and place, are also pivotal features.

Abstract The spiritual figure is a text of pre-existing texts that Molana, motivated by the creation of a new meaning, has undergone a change in the structure of the narrative pirang. Contemplating the pirang changes of stories in Masnavi shows that Molana has the tools such as: the expansion of narrative actions, the creation of Hol and Vela in crisis, the multiplicity of suspense episodes، Metamorphosis in the genre of narratives, the reduction and addition of the levers of the ability of activists and the change in the type of narrative actions to change the pirang of narratives, has used to achieve a new meaning. The purpose of this study is to examine and compare the structure of the pirang in two stories of the elephant-eater in the vulva after its intensity and reflection under the name of the story of the child-eating pile in the third office of Masnavi. The author is determined to analyze the changing tools of the narrative by Molana, by studying the levels of the narrative, to explain how the process of creating a new meaning from this narrative is. The results of the present study show that Molana, by modulating the levers of empowerment and changing the action of characters, by converting the tension narrative to Shushi، It has succeeded in creating a mystical and mystical meaning of a realistic text. And with the change of narrative situations, it has succeeded in creating a narrative in the new genre.
 

Abstract Background and purpose: This research aims to examine the fragments of Saadi's divan for two purposes. The first purpose of this article is the stylistic analysis of the poet's pieces on three levels, linguistic, literary and intellectual, using a descriptive and analytical method, and the second purpose is to discover new points of his personal life through the content of the pieces.
Method: The method of this research is library, induction and statistics.
Findings: The distinctive feature of Saadi in the composition of the piece is its simplicity and fluency in all three levels. He inspires the audience with the most meaning in his compositions with the least expression. In terms of his personal life, new information was obtained about his jobs, his presence and absence in government courts, his travels, his children and his mood. Also, the similar themes of the pieces have been compared with his other works.
Conclusion: Based on the research done in terms of linguistic level, the words used in the pieces are in the field of politics, sharia, wisdom, and admonition codes, and on the other hand, we are not faced with lyrical codes. This statistical community leads us to the conclusion that Saadi's speech is more with the government institutions and then with the conscious human conscience. At the literary level, the original designs are very simple and straightforward. The amount of similes and metaphors is small and all of them are noticeable. At the intellectual level, he was in the service of court affairs for some time and boasted of his poverty, and sometimes used threats and satire to advance his demands.
 

Abstract Although thematic diversity reaches its peak in Hafez’s ghazals, single-themed ghazals with mystical, didactic, and laudatory themes, among others, can also be found in his works. Among these, didactic themes hold particular significance. Beyond their educational messages, these ghazals employ a variety of artistic and rhetorical techniques that enable profound impact. This study aims to examine Hafez’s single-themed didactic ghazals. Using a descriptive-analytical and statistical approach and employing rhetorical criticism, this study seeks to answer the following question: What methods and didactic-rhetorical strategies did Hafez employ to communicate more effectively with his audience, and which of these strategies were most prominent?  The research findings reveal that in his single-themed didactic ghazals, Hafez employs an encouraging tone as his primary and most frequent persuasive tool. Additionally, he complements this with less frequent tones, including cautionary, reproachful, and compassionate tones, in descending order of usage, creating an artistic balance between emotional and logical persuasion. Among the didactic methods, conditional statements in implicit teaching and reasoned discourse—sometimes accompanied by a cautionary tone—are most frequently used for argumentation. On the other hand, the analysis of rhetorical techniques in Hafez’s didactic ghazals indicates that metaphor, followed by simile, plays a key role in conveying didactic messages. These devices create profound and tangible imagery, enriching the poem’s semantic layers.This artistic diversity and combination demonstrate Hafez’s mastery in purposefully employing didactic strategies and rhetorical tools to persuade and inspire reflection in his audience.

Abstract The Qalandari ghazal, as an anti-genre, directly and indirectly critiques and challenges the symbolic values and general methods of other literary genres by subverting the conventions established in previous literary traditions. This research examines the interaction of Qalandari ghazal with two traditional genres, “didactic poetry” and “praise poetry,” analyzing the heterotopic identity and inter-generic structure of this type of poetry. Finally, focusing on a ghazal by Fakhruddin Araqi, it demonstrates how this heterotopic ghazal, through the use of parodic strategies and carnival-like imagery, imitates other traditional genres of Persian poetry, while simultaneously developing them in new directions and challenging them within a complex literary game, thus creating new layers of intertextuality

Abstract This article applies Claude Lévi-Strauss’s theory of binary oppositions to conduct a structural analysis of Mehdi Akhavan-Sales’s poem Chavoshi. The aim of the study is to identify and examine the fundamental oppositions embedded in the poem’s semantic structure and to explore how these oppositions are organized within the narrative and linguistic framework. The central research question addresses how binary oppositions function in Chavoshi and what role they play in shaping the poem’s semantic, mythological, and semiotic structure. This study employs a qualitative content analysis method, focusing on oppositions such as “journey vs. stillness,” “hope vs. despair,” and “freedom vs. captivity” as structural elements within the poem. The findings indicate that Akhavan-Sales, through the use of mythological patterns, cultural symbols, and binary structures, constructs a semantic system that not only reimagines ancient narratives but also elevates the poem beyond a purely personal experience. In this analysis, Chavoshi is understood not merely as a reflection of individual emotion, but as a constellation of signs and cultural structures that derive their meaning through oppositional relationships and mythic codes.

Abstract The book Dastur al-Shu'ara is one of the comprehensive and instructive works in the field of literary sciences and the art of poetry. This book was authored in 1048 AH by Amani Mazandarani and dedicated to Mirza Muhammad Taqi, a minister of the time. The core discussions of the book revolve around the definition of poetry and the poet, as well as chapters on various topics such as prosody (aruz), rhyme (qafiya), rhetorical devices (badi'), and issues related to poetic plagiarism (saraqat-e shi'ri). The comprehensive and detailed information provided on each of these topics adds to the significance of the book. It can be confidently stated that this book was capable of addressing the needs of poets in understanding the formal and structural aspects of poetry, and it remains highly relevant even today. The book includes numerous poetic examples, containing a wealth of verses from poets contemporary to the author, which can serve as a reflection of the poetic standards of that era. The linguistic and stylistic features of Dastur al-Shu'ara largely follow the scientific prose style of the Safavid period. In this article, out of the twenty-four existing manuscripts of the book, twenty-three are briefly introduced, and manuscript No. 4342 from the Astan Quds Library, which was transcribed during the author's lifetime, is examined in detail. This article not only introduces the manuscript of the book but also provides a structural and content analysis, offering insights into its various aspects and critiques. 

Abstract Since the second half of the 6th century, Persian poetry underwent changes due to the emergence of political and social issues, which gave it special characteristics. In fact, since the end of the 6th century, we have witnessed the emergence of great poets. In this period, the structure and content of the poem have many contrasts and contradictions compared to the previous poems. The poetry of this period is stronger in terms of language, with Arabic and Turkish words and combinations, and the abundance of Literary devices, and it does not have the simplicity of the Khorasan period, and in terms of content, it is introverted and includes mysticism and Sufism. Many poets in later periods also followed this style and used the language and theme of prominent poets of this period. Gol Mohammad Khan Zib Magsi is one of the powerful and renowned Baloch poets, one of the contemporary poets who widely benefited from the thoughts, language and expression of the Iraqi style poets, and the poetic themes and characteristics of this period are abundantly evident in his poems. This research has been done in a descriptive-analytical way using library sources and a comparison between the poetry style of Gol Mohammad Khan Zib Magsi, a famous Baloch poet, and famous Iraqi poets. In his poems, Zib Magsi is more inclined towards the Iraqi style and has imitated the language and themes of the great poets of this period by guaranteeing the sonnets. In addition to having many innovations in the field of music, language and theme, Zib Magsi's poetry also has many similarities in terms of the use of words, combinations and specific themes with the powerful poets of the late 6th century to the 9th century AH, which shows his imitation of prominent poets of the style is Iraqi.

Abstract The meaning and concept of unity of existence has been of interest to mystical poetry since ancient times and before Ibn Arabi, although they did not use the specific term of unity of existence. Abu Sa'id Kamal al-Din Najafi Estarabadi, known as Sahabi, is a poet and mystic of the tenth century AH and one of the philosophical quatrain poets who has expressed the mystical-philosophical thought of Ibn Arabi's unity of existence with the language of metaphor. The present study is the result of examining 480 quatrains out of 4000 quatrains of Sahabi Estarabadi, which reflected the issue of unity of existence in some way, and among them, the quatrains that expressed the mystical metaphors of the unity of existence more clearly were separated and analyzed. It was determined that Sahabi used the metaphors of " particle (light) and sun", "shadow", "sea", "image and mirror", "illusion", "squint", "dream", "number", "alif and letters" and "color and colorlessness" to make the idea of unity of existence tangible and portrayed his mystical and intellectual themes in the best possible way for the audience. Estarabadi also used other metaphors to express the unity of existence, but he refrained from mentioning them because there were only one or two quatrains of his poetry as examples. The research method is library-based and analysis of Estarabadi's quatrains, and the aim is to introduce Najafi Estarabadi as one of the greatest quatrain poets of Persian literature to the society, and to access his philosophical thoughts by examining the quatrains that have reached us from him.