Journal of Literary Studies
Year:2013 | Volume:46 | Issue:1 (180)|Papers Count:6

Shahnama has a monotheistic context and its narrative deep structure has been demythologized throughout history at religious, ritual and mythic levels. However, an analytical approach can spot traces of the ancient beliefs reflected in the symbolic implications of the narratives as well as the language and imagery of the Shahnama. The first line in the Preface of the Shahnama, “In the name of God of wisdom and spirit”, best advances a divine ontology. Drawing on historical studies in language (especially etymological analyses) and a mythic-philosophic approach, this paper aims to delineate that the first line of the Preface symbolizes an ancient philosophical belief about the creation of “logos” and “total soul” by God. This line can be a symbolic interpretation of the name of the unique God in Zoroastrianism (Ahura Mazda). This interpretation corresponds to the philosophic thought of Zoroaster and “Khosravani” wisdom and is reflected in the etymology of the word of Ahura Mazda. The compound word symbolizes the creation of wisdom and spirit by God in its two parts (i.e. Ahura=the creator of spirit and Mazda= the creator of wisdom).

In 1949, Joseph Campbell (1904-1987), American mythologist, in his book entitled The Hero with a Thousand Faces discusses his view on "monomyth" in detail: the hero turns his back on the mundane daily life; accepts the perils of a harrowing and hazardous journey; grapples with evil and restraining forces; overcomes all impediments and, upon his return, generously offers his people the hard-earned boon and blessing: the "souvenirs" of his journey. Campbell, in his suggested model, presents a structural pattern for the archetype of the hero's journey. To that end, he examines the myths of many different nations and peoples from all over the world. The present study singles out the story of "The Seven Trials of Rostam" from The Shahnama of Abolqasem Ferdowsi (c. 940-1020 A.D.), the renowned Iranian epic poet, and examines two relatively distinct areas in Archetypal Criticism, i.e. Archetypal Images and Hero's Journey in it. The study concludes with an objective evaluation of the Campbell's model.

Shahanshahnama is one of the historical epic poems composed by Ahmad Tabrizi at the end of the Ilkhanids’ reign. At the time, the poet was not able to openly criticize the Mongols. At times, one may even think that he is praising them. On the contrary, in the hidden layers of his composition, the poet tries to show his criticism by using rhetorical and linguistic tools and praising Iran and Iranians, especially Sultan Jalal al-Din Kharazmshahi. The present paper tries to uncover these hidden layers of Shahanshahnama and reveal Tabrizi's interest in Iran and Iranians. To this end, the critical discourse analysis approach is adopted. To further uncover the poet’s tilt, the study examines different rhetorical and linguistic techniques such as choice of diction, similes and metaphors, meaningful and exaggerated description of battles in the Iranian and Mongol fronts as well as references to dominant discourses like drawing analogies between the characters and those of the Shahnama.

Besides being a literary work, the novel Curse of the Land (Nefrin-e Zamin) is a social document. In this great work, Al-e Ahmad intends to give a social analysis of this own era, and warn his readers against the devastating consequences of modernity. Viewed from this perspective, it is regarded as his most sophisticated work representing his social thoughts and theories. In this paper an effort is made to introduce these theories and compare them with famous explanation models in social sciences in order to indicate the social and historical value of the novel and to clarify the position of its author, whose works are still popular, as a social intellectual in the realm of social theorization. The result of the comparison of his social theories with other models of explanations shows that they cannot be explained with a single model and, to explain them adequately, several models must be employed. It is also concluded that all his theories are not correct and defendable and some of them are seriously flawed.

The study of the sign, in transition from the structural semiotic and narrative system, has entered a new area called the discursive sign-semantics. The first phase is based on the contrasting relations between semantic poles and the second is based on the program and transformation from the first condition to the second. However, this new approach, influenced by phenomenology, has opened a new way in the linguistic and semiotic studies. This view links the production of meaning with sensory-perceptual dimension, and the signs, along with meanings, are turned into fluid, dynamic, plural, multi-dimensional entities. Drawing on the emotional, esthetic and sensory-perceptual aspects, this article tries to analyze the discursive sign-semantics system of the poem “The Shepherd Searching for Remedy” by Nima Yushij and show the formation of the flow of meaning. It aims to explain how the plurality of narratives and the multiplicity of valences in the poem create a space of tensions and cause the fluidity of the discourse.

Formed contractually, signs in literature are often symbolic in nature. The poems and paintings of Sohrab Sepehri, the contemporary Iranian poet and painter, are imbued with such signs which, if decoded, are rendered more tangible and more intelligible. Sepehri’s signs have their origins in nature and Hindu and Buddhist mysticism. With his mystical intuition and Platonic aesthetics, Sepehri has come to believe in a pantheistic understanding of the universe. A significant part of his cosmic signs represents eternal light leading the poet to the truth of existence. Semiotic research can lead to the discovery of meaningful layers in his poems and paintings and can bring the readers close to the semiotic space his poems. The article tries to analyze some of the most important universal symbols according to the schools of Saussure and Pierce and shed light on the concepts and their implications as they appear in Sepehri’s works.