Persian Language and Literature

Publication Information

Classification of Metaphors from Jurjani's Viewpoint

Morteza Barati

Abdul Qadir Jurjânî, with his two famous books, is the most important scholar of Islamic rhetoric. He is the founder of rhetoric in the Muslim world. One of Jurjânî’s most prominent accomplishments is his comprehensive classification of metaphors. First of all, Jurjânî distinguishes between non-expressive and expressive metaphors, and then presents subclasses for expressive, or “useful”, metaphor. Most writers before Jurjânî used a particular kind of metaphor to present examples for clarifications in their discussions, but Jurjânî distinguishes different kinds of metaphors whose mechanism he does not reduce into a single one. In his classification, Jurjânî approaches metaphors innovatively. This article aims to study this classification from a fresh perspective.

The Representation of “Infertility Pain” in a Collection of Short Stories, Be Ki Salaam Konam?

Hossein Bayat

One of the most important aspects of analyzing literary texts is the consideration of the reflection of the author's thoughts, wishes, griefs and regrets as defense mechanisms. In reviewing the reflection of an author's unconscious in his or her work, psychoanalytic or psychological criticism is often used, in which the critic tries to reveal the influence of the author's mental constraints on hidden layers of the work or to open textual ambiguities using psychoanalytical or psychological principles. The authors of this article have tried to investigate in a short story collection, Be Ki Salaam Konam?, one of Simin Daneshvar’s most important psychological anxieties, that is, "infertility pain"; a pain which though is not traced in Jalal al-Ahmad's independent works, it is present in Daneshvar's stories and appears in different ways. Be Ki Salaam Konam? has become a feminine narrative of Jalal’s Sangi Bar Goori. The subject of most of the stories of the former is "infertility", which is presented using child, adopted child, and grandson in the form of free or affiliated motifs. Daneshvar uses unconscious symbols such as the old women to suggest infertility. The reactions of characters in the stories to infertility can be described through defense mechanisms such as displacement, sublimation and projection. Nonetheless, throughout the discussion, when necessary, the paper will benefit from approaches such as archetypal criticism as well.

Constitutionalist Satirists: the Makers of the Modern Iranian History

Mirhadi Husseini

At some historical points, all classes and professions of a society, despite all the differences and disagreements, flow into one single stream to reach a higher goal. Iranians have had this historical experience many times throughout history: during the Constitutional Revolution (1905-1911), and also in the Islamic Revolution in 1979. In the Constitutional Revolution, all classes and professions of the society sought a higher goal that was the eradication of despotism and the establishment of the reign of law. In this Revolution, Persian literature, including poetry and prose, was at the service of the Revolution and satire became the revolutionaries’ main media. Literature of this era became so thoroughly mixed with politics that we can consider the great literati of this period as the great makers of the history of Iran. In this article, we have tried to explore and prove their importance.

Reading Sohrab Sepehri's Poetry in Light of Heidegger’s Ontology

Ali Heidary

As one of the most famous philosophers of the twentieth century, Heidegger has proposed significant ideas about ontology. The undercurrent of his philosophy is the question of being in the world or Dasein. He believes that human is the only creature for whom being in the world is a question and only human is capable of asking about Dasein. Heidegger thinks that authentic poets with their particular use of language are the rightful peoples that can perceive and reveal the truth of being. Sohrab Sepehri is a contemporary poet who has a systematic frame of mind. In his poems, especially in his late works, consciously, continuously, and varyingly he speaks about the true being of things. In this analytic-descriptive article, the authors study Sohrab Sepehri's philosophical perspective towards the ontological state of being. Similar to Heidegger, in order to understand being in the world, he refrains from any stereotypical and utilitarian outlook on it, and ignores the presuppositions. In his final Collection, Sepehri's earnest endeavors to understand the reality of existence are evident. Yet, although he eventually confesses that he has not completely understood the meaning of existence, he never despairs.

The Socioeconomic Status of Men in Laki "Moya" (An Elegiac Dirge)

Mohammad Hussein Khanmohammadi

The "Mour" is an elegiac dirge in Laki – an ancient language still spoken in regions as diverse as Lorestan, Hamadan, Ilam, and Kermanshah. Sung in an elegiac non-rhythmic tune and just in one distich in memory of a dead person, these wistful melodies have a rather long history. The purpose of this article, which is descriptive-analytical and library-based, is to explore the relationship between the distiches of Mour and the socioeconomic status of Laki-speaking men. In this regard, it has been pointed out that in Mour dirges, men’s bravery, magnanimity and hospitality, as well as their economic and social status, physical strength, etc. are often described. The frequency of these descriptions indicate the position of epic, elegy, and narrative in verses of Laki poetry that often in just one distich capture the most outstanding feature of warriors, thanes, tribal sheriffs, farmers and herdsmen.

The Role of Gender in Production and Selection of Metaphors in Poems by Shamloo and Moshiri based on Discourse Theory of Metaphor

Ebrahim Rezapour

Many noteworthy studies have been done to examine the discursive relationship between gender and metaphor in the context of politics, media and literature. In this research, however, I try to investigate the relationship between gender and metaphor specifically in poetical discourse. The main questions of this research are as follows: What is the role of gender in the production and selection of metaphors in the poems by Shamloo and Moshiri? And also can we claim that metaphor is an instrument for representation of sexism in given poems? Research data are extracted from poems by Shamloo and Moshiri and they are analyzed based on Charteris-Black’s discourse theory of metaphor. The results of research indicate that there are manifestations of sexism in these poems, but the degree of sexism in the poems of Shamloo is higher than Moshiri’s. The reason is that the semantic domain of war on conceptual metaphors in Shamloo’s poems is more than Moshiri’s. Therefore, the results of the research indicate that the production and selection of metaphors in poems are decided by gender, attitude and thought of poets, as well as their feelings and social atmosphere. Indeed, gender plays an important role in production and selection of metaphors in poems.

An Analysis of the Function of Non-verbal Communications in Shahnameh

Seyed Ali Ghasemzadeh

Non-verbal communications could be a part of visual signs that, because of their importance in interpersonal relationships and transition of meaning, are highly regarded by psychologists and sociologists. One of the major subdivisions of this topic is called "Body Language" that has existed in all human societies since ancient times. These non-verbal signs, some thousands of years old, have cultural and rhetorical functions, with common and sometimes conflicting aspects, in the cultures and social traditions of different tribes. The more ancient and comprehensive the literary context of a piece of research is, the more valuable that analysis in explaining the cultural, social, and even aesthetic aspects of texts will be. Shahnameh of Ferdowsi, as a representative of Iranian culture and thought in prehistoric age up until the Islamic era, can be the best representation of metalingual communicative performance in Iranian cultural history. Due to the prototypic nature of characters in Shahnameh, many of their non-verbal signs can also be considered the archetypal source of the behavioral interactions or body language of the Iranian people when in the context of epic their national and social identities as Iranians are formed. In this article, attempts has been made to decode these obscure and complex cultural concepts by exploring the "body language" in non-linguistic acts of main characters in Shahnameh. The results of this research demonstrate that the body language of characters in Shahnameh is not accidental but totally conscious. Indeed, the purpose has been to draw the attention of the readers to rethink the patterns of individual and social behavior of Iranian and non-Iranian ethnicities so to recognize the cultural identity mainly through irony and symbolism.

The Crisis of Representation in Azadeh Khanoom and Her Author by Reza Baraheni

Farzad Karimi

The crisis of representation is a topic widely discussed in critique and theory of postmodern literature. This refers to the crises of the present era including the crisis of meaning, the perplexity of contemporary humankind amidst a mass of valid and invalid data, alienation, etc. Literature, as the epitome of human life, is a reflection of these crises in the contemporary era. Azadeh Khanoom and Her Author or the private Auschwitz of Dr. Sharifi, written by Reza Baraheni, is among the most well-known novels of the last three decades in Iran. This novel is regarded as a noteworthy example of postmodern fiction. In the present article, the crisis of representation in Azadeh Khanoom and Her Author is analyzed based on “subject”, as the philosophical substitute for the concept of “man”. In this analysis, the crisis of representation, its consequences for human subject and its influence on Baraheni’s fictional characters are explored; consequently, crises such as identity crisis, personality crisis, etc. can be considered as complications of man’s current affliction of the crisis of representation.

Al-Mutanabbi’s Poetic Presence or Experience-near

Habib-Allah Abbasi

Hardly could any poet, like Al-Mutanabbi, draw to himself the constant attention of scholars, literary man and poets. In this article, we try to find the secret of the admiration that Al-Mutanabbi’s poetry has won and see why he is one of the most preferred poets and considered the prophet of Arab poets. Scholars have studied this issue from various perspectives. In this article, however, I will examine this issue taking a number of points into account: first, two terms of “presence” and “absence” in Sufism, wherein like poetry the emphasis is on intuition; second, concepts such as “experience-near” and “experience-distant” and, finally by relying on this verse of Al-Mutanabbi: “the horse and night and dessert are known to me / also sword, paper and pen”. Al-Mutanabbi by his constant presence in his poetic experience has been able to see so openly what has been hidden from many scholars that this spiritual perception turns into an objective reality to him. We can seek the secret of Al-Mutanabbi’s immortality in the constant presence or, in other words, in his “experience-near” and in his deep wisdom which made his poetry to be considered “the true reference of life”.

A study of Determinism and Free-will in Persian Proverbs

Mostafa Musavi

Proverbs as a part of colloquial literature are always nourished by religion, culture, traditions, and philosophical beliefs of a community, and thus they mirror the common beliefs of a people. The frequent repletion of a proverb pregnant with a specific thought makes that type of thought a behavioral pattern and affects the actions and behaviors of the people of a society. In the Iranian society, always two trends in theological rhetoric were dominant; i.e. the Mu'tazila's espousal of free-will and the Ash'ari's advocacy of determinism. However, because governments continually and in different ways have reinforced the Ash'ari’s determinism, these beliefs have penetrated into the mindset and language of the people. This mentality is so widespread that most Persian proverbs reverberate with this deterministic overtone. A similar determinism in ancient Iran is traceable in the creed of Zorvani who knows this through the concept of "bhakht" which is reflected, for example, in belief in absolute determinism, belief in God's judgment, the will of God and the lack of independence to control one’s own destiny. It also led them to misconstrue issues such as trust in God, delegation of authority, and submission to the will of God: misunderstandings that have had damaging consequences for the Iranian culture throughout ages.

A Study of Colloquial Language in Jalal Al-e-Ahmad’s Fictions

Effat Neghabi

As the most prominent novelist in contemporary Persian prose, Jalal Ale-Ahmad has had great influence on Persian writers, insofar as many writers have followed his suit. Employment of colloquial language is the characteristic style of his fiction. What makes his different, however, is mainly the employment of colloquialism in a subtle, precise and accurate way. Due to the extensive use of colloquial language in his fictions, this article studies terminologies, phrases and figures such as metonymy , interjection, onomatopoeia, reduplication, and also argot and proverb. Having defined these components in his selected works, the authors of this article will put forth some examples and, in multiple tables, illustrate their frequencies. According to a precise examination of his novels, we concluded that among different types of speech, respectively, the metaphoric phrases, argot, assimilation and then reduplication have the highest frequency in Al-e-Ahmad’s prose. He writes in broken Persian to convey the sense of colloquial language in his novels. Substitution and reduction are the most frequent methods he uses when he writes in broken Persian. Interestingly, this frequent colloquial style in his writings has led to a widespread popularity of his novels among the people.