JOURNAL OF LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE FACULTY OF LETTERS AND HUMANITIES
Year:2005 | Volume:37 | Issue:4|Papers Count:10

Lettres Persanes was published in France in 1721 and achieved great success. In this book, Montesquieu, the intellectual writer of the Enlightenment era, used the dialogue between French and Iranian civilizations as a method to present his criticism of the social conditions and legal and political institutions in that country. He used the novel as an efficient medium to convey his ideas to the reader. In this article, the writer first discusses the historical and social conditions prevailing in the country at the time the novel was written. Then the writer examines the contents of the novel, and the reasons for holding a dialogue between the two civilizations. This is followed by a discussion of the characters of the novel and its literary merits. References are also made to certain critical elements in the dialogue including religion, politics and traditions. Finally, the writer claims that the success of the novel over centuries has been indebted to its literary nature and the significance of holding a dialogue between the two civilizations. 

This article is concerned with the values and functions of dreams and dream interpretation as described in Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh. The writer, having presented an introduction on the nature and types of dreams, classifies the dermas referred to in the Shahnameh, a total of 33 dreams, into seven types.The introduction is followed by a discussion on dream interpreters, shared features of dreams, methods of dream interpretation and the narrative functions of dreams. The methods the writer uses in his exposition are contents analysis, description and classifying dreams, and collecting evidence by consulting documents.

The Shahnameh has long been the only popular book that has both entertained Iranians and made them aware of their past. It functioned as a mirror in which every one saw his or her past. Thus, in addition to the changes the poet made himself in the sequence of verses, especially during the years 384 AH, the year the first draft was completed and 400 AH, when the final draft was prepared, scribers and the common readers also made changes, making it extremely difficult to find an authentic copy of the book. In this article, the writer first briefly mentions some of the reasons why reading the Shahnameh is difficult, then he concentrates on one of these reasons; that is, the case where a line is misplaced or added, a question which has been overlooked in scholarly research in spite of its importance. To do so, the writer mentions many instances in the story of Rustam and Isfandiar where the omission or addition of one or several lines has broken the logical continuity of the narrative. For each instance, the writer offers a solution which, as he argues, renders the text more coherent.

The myth of Arash the archer is rooted in a miraculous cow which determined the border of Iran and Turan, and whose soul, after death, emerged out of his body and found its way to Ahuras court. Afrasiab, demon of draught, leaves Turan and trespasses Iran, and destroys springs and rivers, the result is an enmity between the sky and the earth, followed by a long draught. The border between Iran and Turan thus needs to be marked by an arrow shot. Arash is chosen for this great task. He places his soul in the arrow, while his body helps his soul to reach the primary borderline. Assisted by Ahura and angles, the arrow reaches the border of Iran and Turan. The result is an incredible reconciliation of the sky and the earth followed by a rainfall. Tirgan festivity is held each year to celebrate this great day of rain.

Although, quantitatively, the studies of Rudaki in European languages, specially English, are far from being satisfactory, an Iranian researcher comes across interesting insights and ideas in these studies. In this article, the writer presents a critical introduction of these studies, most of which are in English, highlighting the important points in each study. The writer starts his survey with the encyclopedia of Britannica and goes on with Colebrooke, F.F. Arbuthnot Edward Browne, Charles Picketing, Denison Ross, William Jackson, Reubon Levy and Arberry. The writer discusses two of these works in particular: that is, "A Persian Chaucer" by Pickering and Rudakiand Pseudo Rudaki by Denison Ross.

The purpose of this article is to show the influence of Islamic culture on Persian proverbs. Attempts have been made to show this influence by studying 3000 proverbs chosen systematically. The source used is Shakoorzadeh’s "12000 Persian proverbs with 35000 equivalents". The reason for choosing this book was its comprehensiveness compared to Dehkhodas classical book of proverbs. This study, it is hoped, will provide a fresh insight into Persian proverbs as part of the colloquial culture.

Mutanabbi, one of the greatest Arab poets, lived in the 4th century AH. He studies literature and science in Iraq and Damascus. He visited several main Syrian towns where he was admitted to Amirs palaces, he praised all the Amirs in his poetry but received no reward for his efforts. Eventually, he went to Seif al-Dulah’s court in Allepo. Seif al-Dulah was a poet himself, a man of letters, a literary critic and, much to Mutanabbis satisfaction, a generous Amir. This meeting, and the many great poems that followed in praise of Seif al-Dulah, had great benefits both for Mutanabbi, who became rich, and for Arab literature.

Symbolism is one the characteristics of contemporary Arabic poetry. Arab poets have resorted to symbols depending on the political and social situation of the time they lived in. Salah Abdulsaboor is a prominent Egyptian poet, writer, dramatist and politician. Although he is best known as a writer of verse dramas, in his poetry he has made extensive use of political, social and religious symbols. This article deals with several main symbols in his poetry including nature, history, cloud, night, Jacob, etc.

Hesan ibn Sabet, a celebrated poet in the early Islam, who supported Muslims against infidels, was praised by the Prophet (peace be upon him) as "aided by the Holy Spirit", stating that his poetry in lampooning the enemies of Islam was sharper and more destructive than any sword. His stance towards Ali after the death of the Prophet has hardly been studied, because Muslim scholars have regarded him as a companion of the Prophet, so immune from any criticism, and the common people have thus looked upon him with great respect, the negative aspects of his personality remaining unknown. In this article, the writer provides facts about his personality and his stances after the death of the Prophet, asking the reader to judge for himself.

In the fourth century AH, Badi al-Zaman Hamadani, introduced Maqameh, an innovative literary technique. The form was hailed by many scholars of his time, and in the years that followed, many began to imitate his style. Hariri is among those who imitated him, but his close imitations bear striking resemblances to those of his master. This article is a comparative study of the maqamehs of these two writers.