COMPARATIVE LITERATURE STUDIES
Year:2010 | Volume:4 | Issue:13|Papers Count:10

MathnaviManavi is concluded with Dezh-Hoshroba or Ghal-e Zat-alsor which is one of the most important and attractive stories of Mathnavi and different descriptions have been written for it so far.Nezami’sGonbad –sorkh in Haft –Peikar has a particular Position in the corpus of Nezami’s works as well. It has been endeavored in this article to analyze and study these two stories with a Comparative Perspective concerning some similarities between these two stories.The result of the study shows that Molana for writing Dezh-Hoshroba was influenced by Nezami’sGonbad-Sorkh and like other Mathnavi’s stories, he has used it for his own goals and purposes-Dr both of them have used a common source.

Comparative literature is researching on relations and connections of the literatures of different nations of the world and their intellectual and literary exchanges. The main duty of comparative literature is depicting these relationships and literary connections in order to give them a fresh identity to reach in friendship between nations. The present article tries to analyze and compare the tragedy of Rostam and Sohrab from Hakim AbulGhasem Ferdowsi the fourth century poet with the play “Cuchulain” from William Butler Yeats the famous 19th century Irish famous author. Although these stories are written in two different eras there are similarities in them. In both these stories the hero kills his son in the battle while he is not aware of this fact.

In the passionate and poetic story of Siavash in “Shah Name” only the surface structure of the story could be observed although the remains of his fruitful original myth could be pointed out in the rest of “Shah Name”. Siavash is in fact the Iranian God of Fertility of the plants who has been represented as a prince because of his failure in the myth. The present article is an analytic comparison of Siavash with Osiris and Attis. The results of the research show that the mentioned gods have certain similarities. All three have direct relation with nature and its luxuriance. All three have a goddess with affiliated with them, namely Sudabeh, Isis and Sibil who prepare the ground for their death and resurrection (winter and spring). And every year this death and resurrection is repeated for more fertility of nature.

Persian literature is enriched by mellifluous and beauteous stories which have passed from one generation to another in centuries and thus we have access to them at present time. There are also tales, stories and parables from other nations intermingled into Persian literature. Some tales, stories and parables have also gone to other countries and nations from Iran. Researching on how these literary forms have penetrated or entered other cultures and literatures is a very precious activity in which many people spend time. The present article studies the origin of one of the parables of “Iqbal Nameh” by Nizami named “The Signet Ring and the Shepherd” and how it is rooted in the parables of the book “The Republic” by Plato.

The theme of many poems especially sonnets in world’s literature is “Love”; sonnet is in fact poetry of love which wells up from the heart of the lovers. At times this love originates from such ideology and philosophy that it is hardly paraphrased. Plato who lived in the era of polytheism has such a peculiar perception of love that distinguishes him completely from other philosophers of his time; the love which connects him to the divine origin of life. The impact of platonic love could be clearly observed in renaissance sonnets and in the works of poets like Petrarch who was himself inspiring for British poets like Spencer and Sir Philip Sydney. East also represents different complicated forms of love which are influenced by mystic thoughts especially Islamic mysticism. One of these representations of eastern love is voyeurism which is a way to reach spiritual love. The present article compares the meaning of platonic love in Sir Philip Sidney’s Strophe and Stella with voyeurism in Divan of Hafiz.

Although it seems a little bit strange at first to compare Khayyam, the 5th century AH poet with the contemporary French writer André Gide but there are similarities between them as much as there are differences. The concept of gaining pleasure in life and enjoying its moments is central to Khayyam’s mind and poetry. By contemplating the works of André Gide especially “Fruits of the Earth” one understands that they also include similar themes. Thus the present article examines the literary-philosophical trends of these two poets which have a lot in common in this regard. This article tries to compare the works of these two scholars to clarify their intellectual attempts in promoting the idea of gaining pleasure and seizing the day and in parallel it attempts in explaining the ideology of a French writer and an Iranian poet while exploring how Khayyam’s poetry has affected the themes applied by André Gide.

The adventures of Hajji Baba of Ispahan by James Morier is a representation of the colonized Orient. The researchers have endeavored to trace the Orientalist intentions which lie beneath the text. It reveals how the representation of the Orient and Oriental culture goes hand in hand with Imperialism in the novel. In Morier, particularly, two factors of diplomacy and writing have been integrated in one activity aiming at colonialism, which leads to the emergence of the colonial discourse concerning the inferiority and marginalization of the Orient. The present article is also an attempt to study the Occidentals’ views about the Orient as well as analyze the question of Islam. Furthermore, the following questions are explored: Through what images and discourse are the Orient and the Orientals represented? Are the Orientals and Muslims represented as the “Other”? What is the possible relationship between Hajji Baba and Imperialism?As a result, Westerners through a kind of Binary Opposition define themselves as the superior center in the world. Finally, it unveils how a nineteenth- century novel serves the discrimination in the twentieth century. Moreover, the reasons and foundations of Orientalism are highlighted and a number of cultural-social solutions are dedicated.

AbulAla M'arri is one of the scholars and literary men of the fourth century who could perpetuate his ideas through literature and poetry. Arthur Schopenhauer the nineteen century philosopher has also benefited much from literature and he himself was one of the greatest masters of the German language prose. What is comparable considering these two intellectuals is their pessimistic philosophical considerations which they have applied although with some differences in theory and practice. These two scholars have similarities and differences but their similarities are much more than their differences.

The present article analyses the quality and nature of two Jewish and Zoroastrian journeys of the afterlife namely “Book of Ardaviraf” and “Dream of Enokh” while expressing their similarities and differences. The main characters of both works (Viraf& Enokh) are great men of their nation who experience this spiritual journey and visit heaven and hell and walk with creator of the universe and finally they come back to their people with great experiences and instructions. They inform people of what they have observed. In the “Dream of Enokh” the way the universe was created and how it works systematically is also explained but this article mainly focuses on the differences of Heaven and hell in these works.

There is a general similarity between the stories of prophets in holy Quran and Iranian myths. For whatever reason these similarities exist and although there are also discrepancies these stories attract the attention of any reader. Two stories which are worth comparison in this regard are stories of Joseph and Siavash. Similarity of these two stories not only lies in the adventures, actions, dialogues and monologues of each character but also in the fact that there is also a verse version of Joseph and Zuleikha attributed to Ferdowsi. A full comparison of these works will take more than one single article and thus this article focuses on the analysis of only two main characters of Sudabeh and Zuleikha since one of the factors making these stories worth comparison is the behavior of the female characters. The interesting point in this regard is that in spite of considerable similarities between them there are also subtle differences.