Journal of Comparative Literature
Year:2014 | Volume:6 | Issue:10|Papers Count:14

The translation of literary works is an important step towards comparative literary purposes. KelilehvaDemneh is as influential book in Persian and Arabic literary translation and some claim it is the founder of comparative literature deserving more consideration. Examining the Monshi's method of translation welcome by the public can help translating literary works more successfully. The important aim of this study is to provide a methodical style for a comprehensive and systematic review of Monshi'stranslation. Therefore, considering techniques of translation and understanding of the past as to inter-textual and extra-textual factors Monshi's translation was discussed.This study indicates that Monshi's technical innovations of finding lexical equivalents and grammatical accuracy are the methods through which he produces coherence and fluency that lead to coherence of meaning in the two books.

In the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century, the weakness of Asian countries in facing and confronting developed countries led Iranian, Afghan and Central Asianelites to seek a remedy for the backwardness of their countries. Freedom, homeland, the absence of modern educational centers were among the topics that have played an important role in the unity of the intellectuals and revolutionaries. Activities of Iranian intellectuals in this period led to the Constitutional Revolution; the people of Afghanistan experienced the first and second Constitutional movements at this time, and the efforts of the people of Central Asian countries led to the emergence of the movements of "enlightenment", Jadidiyeh and eventually Bukhara people's revolution. As an active cultural element, poets along with other elites considered evolution and change in the basis of traditional community, and joining the modern world as the culmination of their mission.

As a common literary genre, maqameh is considered as one of the main genres in Arabic literature that has affected Persian literature. Badi-o-Zaman Hamadani and Hamidiare pioneers in writing maqameh, respectively in Arabic and Persian literature. Hamidi's maqameh writing is completely influenced by Arabic maqameh writing so that heis considered as an imitator of Arabic maqameh. A sample of his maqamehs is "Sakbajieh" which is a free translation of Hamedani's Maqameh "Mozirieh". To the purpose of comparatively evaluating the level of Hamidi's Arab peer effects on his works and determining the two writers' capabilities, this study aims to investigate and review the narrative structure of the two maqamehs such as characterization, scene, dialogue, introduction, projection of the plot, conflict, suspense, climax, and conclusion. Finally, the result was that despite the imitation of Hamidi from Hamedani maqameh in terms of subject matter, there are differences between the two as to the narrative elements; Mozirieh Maqameh's technical values are more than Sakbajieh from the narrative elements point of view.

Altruism is to escape from the dominant tradition of paying attention to "I" and "You", and to provide the ground for the presence of "The Other", which has not been that much regarded in the literature of the past; it has been considered more in contemporary poetry. Today the poet does not care only for himself or his direct addressee, but he knows himself as "a bough from the woods", addresses "You" in a general sense, and includes "Her/Him" as well; hence the presence of "The Other" is central in his poetry.Current human and social backgrounds in modern age, and more realistic views of existence, necessitate altruism, and it seems that the presence of a poet in today's poetry depends on his regard for it.This study examines the question of altruism in "HavayeTazeh" by Shamlou, and "AbariqMohshamah" by Abdolvahab-al-Bayati. The results indicate that altruism is the difference between these two poets and others, or between today's poetry and that of the past.

As an outstanding literary genre, novel emerged in western societies after the industrial revolution and slowly entered into literature with the changing of man's life style and the dominance of his role in the developed western society. It demonstrated itself as an uncontested literary genre in the contemporary age by illustratingman's status, conditions and concerns in modern western society. Despite their great literary heritage, Persian and Arab literature were unaware of novel's value and importance till they came to knowwestern civilization.This study examines and compares factors affecting Iranians and Arabs' familiarity with western civilization and its result, i.e. theemergence and formation of novel in these two regions. Results indicate that Arabs were relatively successful and pioneer in this field.

Mowallad proverbs are newly-invented, non-Arabic proverbs having entered Arab culture as a result of their encounter with other nations. Many Persian words could be detected in these proverbs that have entered Arabic literature during Jaheli (Ignorance), Islamic, and Abbasid periods. Proverbs of the first two periods have lost their Persian color, and become naturalized into Arabic literature. Proverbs of the third group, which are mostly related to city and civic life, have been transformed from their Persian origin into Arab culture. Other results indicate a 2500 percent increase of Persian words in Mowallad proverbs compared to the Holy Qoran.

Ahmed Shawki the great Arab poet-laureate, portrays the marriage of Cambyses, the second king of Achaemenid dynasty, to the Egyptian queen and his attack on Egypt. In order to provoke a sense of nationalism among Egyptians during the English rule in Egypt, Ahmad Shawqi could not find any better means than that of Iranian culture. Following the model of Achaemenid kings and the Iranian culture of toleration, and also borrowing Persian names, and portraying Iranian prowess, he intended to free the Egyptians from their cruel king, though he faced much criticism.Based on the French approach to comparative literature, and in a descriptive-analytical way, this study examines the play Cambyses and the picture of Iran presented by Ahmad Shawqi.

The epic "The Knight in the Panther's Skin", written by Georgian poet Shota Rustaveli, is the reflection of the culture and literature of Georgian society at its blossoming time during the rign of Queen Tamar. Being familiar with Nezami's works, Rustaveli, in the prologue to "The Knight" asserts that Persian narrative poetry has been a source of inspiration for composing his work. In spite of Rustaveli's own acknowledgment, some Georgian literary figures and critics like King Vakhtang VI and Professor JamshidGiunashrili contend that in none of Iranian narrative stories there exists a story like that used by Rustaveli.Based on the comparison of the two works, and regarding Iran and Georgia's connections at the time, and also considering the poet's acknowledgment, this study proves that Nezami's Khosrow and Shirin could most possibly be the same unknown source of inspiration for composing "The Knight in the Panther's Skin".

One of the goals of comparative literature is the study of connections between literary works and authors of different nations, and the discovery of their inspiring source. In this study, two Persian and Arabic contemporary novels, i.e. "Sang-e Saboor" by SadeghChubak, and "Miramar" by the Egyptian writer Naguib Mahfouz areinvestigated, based on the French school approach in comparative literature. They are also compared with each other in terms of the most important story elements. The purpose of this study is to examine the question of the similarity of the two works, and the reason for this similarity. The study results, obtained through library research methods and based on description and analysis, show that in addition to some common themes, the two works are very close to each other in terms of narrative structure and entanglement of events and characters. The reason for the existence of these fundamental similarities is that both Choobak and Mahfouz were influenced by "The Sound and the Fury" written by William Faulkner, the 20th century American novelist.

No mystic or philosopher, religious or non-religious, eastern or western, ancient or modern, has ever ignored the question of love. Love is highly valued in the mystical viewpoint of Mawlana and Krishnamurti. They argue that it is impossible to express the true meaning of love and believe that man is unable to understand the true meaning of love. However, basedon the attributed named for love by each of these two figures, it is possible to gain an approximate understanding of the notion of love.These two poets enumerated similar and sometimes dissimilar attributes of love. Among the most substantial differences in their definitions of love is the significant manifestation of God in Molana's definition. In his view, love that is not based on God's thought and presence is not true love, while God plays an insignificant role in Krishnamurti's definition.

Moshiri and Abosennah are famous contemporary Persian and Arabic poets of nostalgic literature. They have written their love poems in accordance with the necessity and the need of the societies in which they lived. Love in the poems of these two poets goes beyond the emotions of two persons and transforms into a strong belief, aiming at saving mankind from sorrow and establishing a utopia, eventually aspiring to save the essence of man and humanity. Both poets have made links between individual and collective love and conscience. This bond is more remarkable in Abosennah's poetry; therefore, in their love poems, they spoke of freedom, humanity, and their beloved homelands, employing their romantic vision and combining it with realism, while resorting to a soft and clear language to leave their desired impression on their audience's minds and hearts. Many poets' emphasis on love, despite all its disappointments and complications, is rooted in their belief that love affects the organization of an ideal society and leads to the creation of mental health. Therefore, in order to reveal the two poets views on the reforming and inspirational social effects of love, the purpose of this study is to examine love by its characteristics in the Abusennah and Moshiri's poetry through the application of a descriptive-analytical method.

Proverbsare the mirror to the culture, customs, and mentality of a society. Studying oral literature of nations is the simplest way to learn about the culture of every society. Proverbsare considered as one of the most common forms of oral literature. Different communities have influenced each other due to relationship, migration, war, trade, etc. In the course of this influence and cultural exchanges, sometimes it is difficult to identify the true origin due to similarities. Studying Arabic and Persian proverbs and their similarities and differences indicates Iranians and Arabs cultural, intellectual, and social similarities and differences.This study attempts to comparatively review a selection of Persian and Arabic proverbs about "speech" in the semantics, lexical, syntactic and rhetorical fields, to indicate cultural similarities and differences of Iranians and the Arabs. Lexical review of proverbs confirms their eloquence. Syntactic review confirms their descriptiveness. The verbs in the proverbs are dominantly in the affirmative sense. Rhetorically, figures of speech based on comparison are dominant. Finally, it was concluded that brevity, rhythmical expression, and dominance of meaning indicate the deep relation and communication between Iranians and Arabs.

In literary terms, maqameh is a musical and rhythmical short story written for the first time in Arabic literature of the 4th century AH by Badi-o-Zaman Hamadani. It is a story about a hero that is usually motivated for beggary, wandering from city to city. He changes face in different places and appeals to his shrewdness for earning a living. In the literature of the 16th century Europe there was a genre called picaresque, similar to maqameh. The word picaresque comes from the Spanish picaro meaning a rogue. The protagonist is an unknown person from the low class who takes long journeys to gain fortune. Characterization, narrative structure, and theme are the common features of picaresque stories and maqameh. Therefore, it is thought that picaresque is an imitation of maghameh. This study is a library research that examines the similarities of the two genres.

Palestinian resistance poet, Mahmoud Darwish, makes the most use of symbol in his poetry. One reason for the use of symbol by a poet is the social, political, and military conditions of the society in which he writes as a reformer.Seyed Ali MousaviGarmaroudi, the Persian resistance poet uses symbols as well. Symbols in both collection of poems, i.e. "Under the Siege", and "Purple Dream", could be categorized into both positive and negative, with the difference that Darwish uses more meaningful and deeper ones. The audience has to go beyond surface meaning to recognize the true meaning; Garmaroudi's symbols, however, are parts (white and black) split, except that the symbols in the poetry of Mahmoud Darwish, have depth and greater meaning. His only apparent meaning interpretation does not rely on the audience to get the real meaning of the symbols through more, but Garmaroudi symbols are superficial. A reason for this difference could be the extent to which a society is suppressed. Due to the intense dominance of the Zionists, Palestinian poets must be cautious. This caution is also seen in Garmaroudi's revolutionary poems, but not in his Holy Defense poems.Darwish and Garmatoudi have similarities and differences in their use of symbols related to nature, animals, birds, and religious and national myths. Darwish, for instance, uses symbols related to color, politics, and industry, while Garmaroudi uses symbols for people, places, and prophets.