Journal of Literary Studies
Year:2013 | Volume:46 | Issue:2 (181)|Papers Count:8

Due to its unique features derived from ancient Iranian history and culture, Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh has captured the attention of all Iranian social classes including the folk. The interest of the folk in the Shahnameh can be witnessed in the common proverbs they use. The hemistiches, couplets and themes of this great masterpiece used as proverbs, or the proverbs including allusions to the epic stories and characters as well as the very word “Shahnameh” and the poet himself all bespeak its widespread and profound influence on the Iranian folklore. The aim of this article is to investigate the role and contribution of Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh to Persian proverbs as they appear in Dehkhoda’s Amsal-o-Hekam (i.e. Proverbs and Aphorisms) and to further examine such proverbs. For this purpose, proverbs derived from the Shahnameh are considered in terms of typology and themes using work-based and proverb-based approaches. Finally, it has been considered why there are so many proverbs and paroemiac verses in Dehkhoda’s Amsal-o-Hekam derived from the Shahnameh.

Gandarw is a dragon that Garshasp, the legendary Iranian paladin, killed him beside the Farakhkart sea. He appears as a dragon in the Avesta and Pahlavi books but he is viewed as a human being in the books of the Islamic period. Gandarw possesses divine attributes and is deemed to be a demigod in the Indian mythological traditions. As yet, there has not been any significant work to adequately address the relationship between both the human and supernatural aspects of the dragon and also the relationship between Gandarw and the Indic Gandharva.The present research is an attempt to study Gandarw as an aquatic creature and to relate its human aspect with water. It also intends to examine its role as a totem for ancient peoples in the Indo-European civilization.

The battle of Rostam and Kok-e Kohzad is one of Rostam’s famous stories in his childhood recounting one of the tales of his bravery.For this episode, there are two accounts: the short and the long ones.The long story is the one found in the appendices of the Calcutta edition. These two accounts have been printed either separately or in the appendices of different versions of the Shahnameh all based on the same Calcutta edition. However, the short account of Kok-e Kohzad story has not yet undergone critical recension. After introducing this account, the article examines the mythic image of Kok-e Kohzad. Offering some evidence, the study then proceeds to suggest that the short version of the story is older and predates the long one.

In stylistics, analysis of syntactic categories is very important especially in the branches that examine the power relationships such as critical stylistics. The present paper considers the question of text certainty and author’s certitude in Ghazali’s letters. Using statistical methods, the study analyzes modality and examines the impact of this stylistic feature on the interpersonal relationship of the author and his addressees. The results show how the high percentage of both cognitive and imperative modes asserts the authority of the author’s position vis-à-vis the power institution. The high certainty of the texts surely emanates from Ghazali’s position as a high-ranking Shafi'i scholar and, in turn, enhances his authority. The purpose of this study is to show the role of stylistic features in a contextual study of Ghazali’s letters.

The present work is going to analyze the novel Viran Miaie written by Hossein Sanapour. The following reading is a revealing constructivist analysis of a literary text based on Todorov’s theory of narrative. The study shows that all actions in the narration of the novel can be reduced to two concepts: searching and not finding. Then, based on one of the post-structuralistic approaches to the text analysis –i.e. discourse analysis of Laclau & Mouffe about the identity concept – it is suggested that the main characters of the story are seeking to find a new definition for their identity formed by their gender roles and by the family discourse as the only source for stabilizing the characters’ identity in this story. However, inability of the characters to reorganize the equivalence chain which is shaped based on the man/woman master signifiers is interpreted as their failure in taking on the identity they are seeking.

One of the important subjects in rhetoric is the study of secondary meanings in sentences. Questions are sentences which demonstrate neither facts nor lies.Rhetorical questions often need no answers but attempt to show some rhetorical functions such as surprise, denial, regret, desire, etc. In this article, first, the structure and the frequency of questions in Qeysar Aminpour’s poetry volumes The Morning Breath, Unexpected Reflections, In Sunshine Alley, and The Grammar of Love are studied; then, these questions are classified based on their meanings and examples for each group are mentioned and their rhetorical functions are illustrated through statistical tables and frequency charts. The study reveals that the frequency of questions in In Sunshine Alley and The Grammar of Love rises. It also demonstrates the high frequency of two rhetorical meanings, “complaint” and “blame,” in Aminpour’s poetry. The number of questions here can indicate the number of questions the poet confronted while forming his identity and ideology; they might also signify the poet’s endeavor to leave more impression through rhetorical questions! Furthermore, the high frequency of “complaint” and “blame” can reveal the poet’s emotional dissatisfaction with the surrounding world and show his desire for a change and for an ideal world.

The present article, first, gives a brief account of hermeneutics, its history, and its methods. Then, the focus is directed to the interpretations and justifications of the Iranian myths as they appear in Motahhar ben Tahir’s work Afarinesh va Tarikh (i.e. Genesis and History). Science and religion are two powerful opponents of myths. After the development of science and the emergence of monotheistic religions, myths were declining. Scientists refuted them and the men of religion considered them as heresy. The first attacks against myths took place in the form of interpretation. The interpretation of myths has been done by two parties: the opponents of myths who aimed to destroy them and the believers who meant to adapt them to the new scientific systems and religious beliefs. With the revival of the Persian culture, the Iranian cultural movement (i.e. Shu' ubiyyah) reached its climax in the 4th century A.H. One of their missions was to collect and arrange Iranian national history which included myths and the accounts of extraordinary creatures and deeds. To prevent the denial of the myths by the opponents, some of the Shu' ubi scholars began interpreting and justifying them. Motahhar ben Tahir, author of Afarinesh va Tarikh, was the first who, with the aim of preserving and developing Iranian culture, interpreted myths with his own specific methods.

The creation of Adam/human being is one of the most important and ubiquitous subjects in different religious and non-religious works. Among the questions which can repeatedly be found in such works are: How was Adam/human being created? Why was he created? Why was he placed on the earth? What is his status among the other creatures? Old rituals, religions, literary and mythical works have tried to answer these questions in their own ways. In Persian mystical works the prevailing point of view is that the first human being is Adam who was directly created from the soil. In these works we may read a lot about the way the soil was gathered and prepared for creating Adam’s body. Different interpretations have been offered in different works. The present research discusses these points of view. In the final analysis, it is revealed that Persian mystical literature has been influenced by the Quran and the Judaic accounts of the creation stories.