LITERARY THEORY AND CRITICISM
Year:2016 | Volume:1 | Issue:1 |Papers Count:7

Employing a theoretical model that combines elements from phenomenology and smiotics, the present article analyzes the respresntation of the immigrant‟s life style in a literary work. After introducing the semio-phenomenological model, a new definition is proposed for “life style”, which is formed in the “intentional” relation between the subject, on the one hand, and objects and actions, on the other, and, thus, imparts signification, value and identity to both sides of the exchange. Accordingly, in order to analyze the life style, the proposed model points to the following four actions: difference, similarity, connection and translation. Next, via a semio-phenomenological analysis, these four actions aretraced in Jhumpa Lahiri‟s collection of short stories Interpreter of Maladies. Finally, it is concluded that in the inteactive or phenomenological relation to others and objects surrounding him/her, the immigrant experiences different life styles. He/She establishes his/her difference from the other by virtue of preserving the life style in his/her homeland; yet, at the same time, by imitating the hostcountry‟s life style, he/she attempts to identify with the other, mixes with the other, creates a hybrid life style and makes an engrafted identity.Most importantly, contitnually passing through the significations of the homeland‟s andhost country‟s life styles, the immigrant repeatedly translates his/her own identities.

Inspired by Hjelmslev‟s linguistic insights, and influenced by Peirce‟s work on the interpretive dimension of the sign, which is the outcome of his contemplations onunlimited semiosis, Umberto Eco has tried to put forward innovative ideas on the ways in which the interpretation of the text takes place.Drawing on structuralist methodology and American pragmatism, Eco offers a semiotic foundation for interpretation and, consequently, shows that interpretation is the result of the reader‟s interaction with the text. Therefore, interpretation is by no means restricted tointentio auctoris (the author‟s intention), and moves beyond such limitations. This article attempts to examine the theoretical origins of Eco‟s thought as well as the arguments deriving from these origins. It demonstrates that, in contrast to „aberrant interpretation‟, which requires a subject-orientedreading, „authentic interpretation‟ results from the reader‟s restricted freedom. In other words, thanks to its semiotic possibilities, the text forces the reader to move in certain interpretive directions which could be predicted and explicated through the semiotic analysis of the text.

Understanding the mutual relationship between history and literature has always been significant for men of letters. This relationship can be traced back to the writings of Plato and Aristotle. With the emergence of New Historicism in the 1980s, the duality between history and literature, which was the dominant mode of thought since Aristotle, collapsed and with the theories of Hayden White and Greenblatt, who viewed history and literature in a new light, the reciprocal relation of the two was proposed. Hayden White looks at history through the lens of language and believes that historical facts are made through narratives constructed by historians. To Greenblatt, literary texts are tools of power and this gives them the capacity to display the acts of imposing power and resisting it. Connecting history and literature, New Historicism holds power relations as the most important background to a text and regards the literary text as a space for the manifestation of power and the interaction of different discourses. Thus, modern literary criticism puts political texts in a new perspective which allows for political power to be analyzed by means of the tools of literary criticism such as metaphor, metonymy, irony and narrative techniques.

Emotions can cause discursive connection and disjunction. The mechanism of the emotive dimension of the tragic story of “Hasank the Vizier” inBeyhaqi’s Historyleads to discursive failure. Adopting a discourse analytical approach, informed by the phenomenology of senses and emotions, this article demonstrates that the determining and distinguishing emotive deep structure in the story derives from the “social and intersubjective humiliation” experienced by the negative emotive character, Busahl Zuzani. This leads to emotions such as “relief, prejudice and revenge”, and the relieving aspect continues even after revenge has been taken. The intensity of the emotive dimension relating to this negative actant is in line with the presentation of a general statement on rational political action. At the same time, the rationalistic dimension of the tale is based on its rational and complex character, Sultan Masoud Ghaznavi, who produces rationalistic statements in the text but, sharing subjective humiliation, is discursively connected with Busahl, and disconnected from Hasanak. Therefore, despite being the main source of power and having a key role in determining the destiny of the discourse, this rational character is relegated to the second layer of the plot.

Psychoanalytic criticism is one of the most widly used approaches in contemporary literary theory. Using this approach in reading literary works can help in the exploration of their deep layers. This article draws on the major notions in Lacanian psychoanalysis, and traces them in Ahmad Shamlou‟s wellknown poem “Death of the Nazarene”. To do so, first the Lacanian psychoanalytic framework, which includes concepts like the Imaginary order, the Symbolic order, the Real order, object petit a, and the big Other, will be explained. These concepts will, then, be applied to Shamlou‟s “Death of the Nazarene” in order to reveal complex layers and present relevant arguments.Jesus was born in Nazareth and, therefore, Shamlou calls him “the Nazarene”.He is a man who, extending his mercy, wants to save the society by orienting it toward the big Other. This characteristic occurs in the Symbolic, but mercy and love usually do not happen after the imaginary world. This study offers a textual analysis for a better understnadingof the poem‟s implied and hidden layers.

How do we experience elusive, intangible and concealed time in narrative fiction? This article examines the conceptualization of time in language.Redefining narrative from a cognitive perspective and explicating the function of time in fictional narratives, it studies the mechanism of time in Bozorg Alavi‟sHer Eyes. Among the different aspects of time in narrative, this article considers the structure of time in relation to the events of the narrative and the way they connect with each other in a temporal chain. These two issues are discussed by having recourse to “Mental Spaces” and “Conceptual Integration”theories. Applying these two cognitive semantic theories to fictional narrative suggests that narrative spaces are structured by three elements including point of view, focus, and event. Based on their internal parts, each of these spaces, then, blends into another space and the string of events is thus built.Consequently, this article explains the construction and emergence of meaning at the level of discourse.

With its socio-political themes, Bahram Beizaee’s play The Four Boxes, written in the 1940s, is highly amenable to the sociological approach in literary studies.Connecting society and the literary work, this approach has established itself as one of the most significant among critical approaches, and is now being employed as a useful and practical method in the analysis of artistic works. The method used in this article is Lucien Goldmann’s genetic structuralism which contains elements and principles that can be connected and generalized.Drawing on this method, we analyze the play based on its characters, each of whom represents a certain social layer. Finally, the article shows how through a committed and engaging artistic work, Beyzaee presents his deep understanding of the political and social events happening in contemporary history and, thus, expands public awareness as a social critic.