Journal of Literary Studies
Year:2009 | Volume:42 | Issue:2 (165)|Papers Count:13

Compared to other Persian didactic literary works like the works of Sanaei and Attar, stories in the Mathnavi have a unique position. A great number of the stories of the Mathnavi were not created by Mo' lavi himself; they have been presented in previous sources, including Attar's Manteggotteyr (Conference of Birds). Relation between the Manteghotteyr and the stories of Mathnavi is over-textual, which implies every type of relation connecting text-B (hypertext) with text-A (hypotext). In this paper, the structure of common stories of two works has been compared with structural narratology to enlighten the aesthetical approach of the Mathnavi in storytelling by signifying the similarities and differences of the two works. It is concluded that Mo' lavi has used storytelling techniques much better than Attar since he has applied a complex and indirect transformation of previous stories.

Abolmajd Majdod Ebn Adam, called Sanaei Gaznavi, is an epoch maker and owner of a distinct style living in the 6th and 7th centuries. Due to his complex mind and the specific circumstances in which he lived, Sanaei attained innovative semantic and stylistic achievements which made him known as a poet with a unique style, and an imitator of Persian mystic poetry. Even though we know very little about his life, his use of the hidden pseudonym Rahi, which is so frequent in his poetry, provides the reader with a clue to his personality. This paper is an attempt to reveal this secret.

Mythological or archetypical criticism is an interdisciplinary approach which analyzes the literary text based on the findings of such sciences like psychology, anthropology, history of religion and history of civilization. In the present paper, the writers have studied the function of the aqueous archetype image in the myth of creation and the resulting mysteries in the context of mythological doctrines centered around Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh (Epic of Kings). Water myth, as one of the four contradictory elements forming the mythological material world, has assumed certain roles and is a common phenomenon in the world myths and Shahnameh. The symbolic functions of the water myth have been divided into three parts: 1. In different human cultures, the aqueous myth is a symbol of the beginning of material creation and life cycle in the universe. This function is symbolized in the primal creation of the world out of water and its symbolic end in it.2. Water Myth is the main symbol of eternity and continuity of material life. This function is symbolized in the "life-sustaining water" and "the healing water".3. The third function of Water Myth is manifested in the myth of passage through water (water test) and symbolic washing by it (baptism myth); this is used as a test for the human catharsis, passage from a former stage into a new, exalted stage symbolized as the archetype of death and rebirth.

As a character of Shahnameh, Bozorjmehr has a unique position. He is a wise sage whose sayings revolve around morality, wisdom, guidance, progress, truth and goodness. Likewise, Islam is a religion whose teachings and injunctions all lead to human perfection. Comparing the sayings of Bozorjmehr with the teachings of The Quran and the traditions of Innocent Imams (peace be upon them all), the writers show close similarities between them. The writers then address two main questions: A: How can we categorize the similarities found between the statements of Bozorjmehr in Shahnameh and the teachings of the Quran and tradition? B: What are the reasons for these similarities? The writers use a causal-comparative method; that is, they first describe and categorize the similarities and then try to find reasons, based on logic and tradition, to justify these similarities.

Structural studies of literary works, which seek to examine the inner textual elements and to discover their connections, provide the grounds for better understanding the essence of literature and by presenting the devices of creating excellent literature can help us to expand the patterns of processing a literary work. A number of structural critics have dealt with the narrative forms by studying fiction elements and their combination rules. Among them C. Bermond has put forward a scheme based upon a formative exhibition which stands upon the ways of connection among the smallest units of fiction. Kelidar is a long novel with detailed and inter-mingled text formed by numerous events and themes. For a structural study of this novel, it is essential that an overall scheme of the novel be made first. In the analysis of the novel, the characters become impotent in proportion to their participation in the chain of events and also their role in creating climaxes. The importance of a realist novel like Kelidar lies in the complete sequences, their arrangement and cause-effect relation among them. The number of the main sequences is usually related to the number of climaxes. Within the novel, every character performs their role in numerous sequences but not all of them have a focal position in building the main construction. So Kelidar is a novel of logical composition of pivotal sequences which stand in a meaningful relation with secondary and minor sequences. The number of characters is affected by such factors as subject, general atmosphere, number of main narratives, sound construction of narratives, and their purposeful interrelationship.

This paper, by presenting several prevailing definitions of satire, surveys the background and status of satire in the classical Persian literature. It first deals with the development and evolution of socio-political satire as a unique literary genre during the ‘Iranian Constitutional Movement’ and the following decades. The writer then discusses the formal structure of contemporary socio-political satire with respect to the usage of figures of speech. To show the application of stylistic literary devices and rhetoric, the writer compares Persian and English irony using examples. Finally, the writer discusses the difficulties of translating figures of speech used in the satires of a given language into another.

Andre Chenier (1762-1794) is the greatest and the best known French poet of the 18th century. He is famous especially for his courageous opposition to the power of the Terror in the early years of the French Revolution which caused finally his death by guillotine. The study of his poetical works can clarify the literary transition between neoclassicism and romanticism. This paper, by describing the poetry, the ideas and the time of Chenier, tries to demonstrate why it is impossible to limit his works merely to classicism. In fact he goes beyond the limits of classicism and toward romanticism, the literary school whose great followers call him their own precursor.

Denying lexical dogmatism and announcing free presence of lexical items in poetry deluded the minds that the mere presence of any lexical item in a poem rends it aesthetic value! Consequently, an enormous number of words, regardless of their poetical value, rushed into the world of poetry. Of course, no one can deny the fact that any lexical item can freely enter the poetical context of any literary work; however, it must be clarified from the very beginning that this presence would never guarantee the worth and cost of any such word. This aesthetic value could just be extracted from both words and the context surrounding any given word. This, in itself, means that the richness of any given word appeals to the linguistic environment in which it has been used. This environment is both linear and spatial; accordingly, we need a comprehensive model which is adaptable to paradigmatic and syntagmatic axes. This model, therefore, is based on Jacobsen linguistic model, through which we have come to a better understanding of this question, that is, where in the word does the aesthetic value lie.

A place-name or a toponym is a word used to indicate, denote or identify a geographic locality. Place-names are formed in the course of history of a region and are affected by various linguistic, social, political and cultural events. Toponymy is the taxonomic study of place-names, based on etymological, historical and geographical information. This paper first defines toponym and topnymy and illustrates typology of toponyms. The paper then looks at the relationship between toponymy and etymology and shows how etymology enlightens the origin and historical development of toponyms. Finally, the paper offers a methodology for studying toponymys of Iran from a historical linguistics point of view and remarks original sources for Iran’s toponyms studying.