نامه فرهنگستان
سال چهاردهم شماره 3 (بهار و تابستان 1394)

Since the sources used by a researcher indicate his/her understanding of the theoretical and practical potentials of his/her research area, in this article, the bibliographical lists, references and citations of articles written within the domain of comparative literature come under close scrutiny in order for us to lay bare the theoretical frameworks and research methodologies of comparative researches carried out in Iran during 8os. The objective is to specify the school of comparative literature that the comparatists draw from and to show the degree to which the school of thought has been understood by the researcher; consequently, the standards that researchers are expected to take heed of when working in the field of comparative literature will be elucidated. The main axis of this article is the investigation and the critical analysis of comparative research in Iran during 80s. The writer, attempts on the one hand, to reveal the absence of theoretical foundation, non-compliance of researchers with the theoretical principles, and their misunderstanding or partial understanding of theory in comparative studies. The reason behind dynamicity or staticity of comparative research in Iran will be explained from theoretical and methodological perspectives. On the other hand, source selection, mode of quotation, the degree of adherence to comparative methodology, and the contradiction between theory and method will be investigated and analyzed.

In 1301/1922, the first section of NimāYushij’sAfsāneh appeared in MirzādehʿEshqi’s weekly journal Qarn-e bistom. It came with a preface that showcased Nimā’s elaborate reflection on the modernization of Persian poetry. In his preamble, Nimā referred to the form of Afsāneh as a “drama” (namāyesh), a term foreign to the Persian poetic lexicon of the time. Where he dissented from theclassical rules of poetic composition, the author explained, it was to bring poetry closer to the pace of “natural” language. In his preface, Nimā vows to bring Afsāneh to the stage and to further engage in “drama” composition in the future. In practice, however, Afsāneh never made it to the stage, and was never considered theatre by the public. In his later work, Nimā himself only refers to Afsāneh as a “poem” (sheʿr or manzumeh) and drops the term “drama” altogether, in spite of his pledge. The present article aims to explore the composition of Afsāneh, Nimā’s initial reference to “drama” and the theory he advocates for this “new” form. On this issue, I establish the influence of the French romantic poet Victor Hugo on Nimā’s “modern” theory of “broken verse.” As I argue, the notion of “drama” mainly served the poet of Afsāneh as a medium to introduce the technique of “broken verse” into Persian.

Today, the definition of text in comparative literature has undergone significant changes. Apart from the conventional written text, verbal, nonverbal, audio, and visual texts are now within the domain of comparative studies. Besides, today, Comparative Literature is inclusive and closely connected to other disciplines; thus, interdisciplinarity and interculturalism are its distinguishing features. Since literary theories exert a strong influence on comparative studies, and because comparative literature is interdisciplinary, the role of literary theory and criticism in propagating comparative approaches across different disciplines cannot be ignored. Literary theories and critical approaches borrow from different sciences such as Linguistics, Psychology, Politics, History, Philosophy, Economics, Social Sciences, etc. Employing New Historicism which is more rooted in History and Politics, the author tries to examine the mutual relationship between the text—the song of "Ey Iran" ("O Iran") and the song of "Hoviat-e Man" ("My Identity")—and the context. In other words, this paper tries to show how an audio text (song) shapes and is shaped by the context and how a text can in its turn form a new discourse in resistance to or in support of the dominant discourse.

Social environment and cultural context and ethnic histories are the most influential factors in the emergence of literary and artistic works. Dreams, achievements, goals and ideals can lead to writer's and artist's success. With an interval of four years, two contemporary poets of different nationalities have composed poems about eagles: "Uqāb" by the Persian poet and scholar, Khanlari, and "Nasr" by the Syrian poet and scholar, Omar Abu Risha. The two poets were not acquainted with each other, nor had they read each other's poems. Therefore, the two poems have been originated in similar imaginations, landscapes and mental images and they carry almost the same title. An examination of the poems and a study of the poet's backgrounds reveal similar experiences that had taken place within similar social and cultural circumstances. Additionally, themes in what Jung calls the "collective unconscious" of two nations lead to the composition of poems with the same poetic landscape, symbols and mythological figures by two disparate poets. Khanlari in his poem tries to realize the dream of ascension and ascendancy, while Omar Abu Risha speaks of unfulfilled desires and descent first, but goes on to express hopes of ascension. In this article, we examine the two poet's mental origins as well as cultural and intellectual similarities and differences resulted by the social imaginings and ethnic/ national mentalities.

Tahmineh is a wise brave woman in Persian mythology, whose behavior and characteristics are very similar to Artemis, the Greek goddess of hunting and war. The researcher compares the two characters based on the principles of American comparative literature. The results show that these two characters share similar attributes in that they both have twin brothers and both are connected with hunting and forestry, and both are known for bravery and archery. Tahmineh and Artemis are both virgins and initiators of love. However, the immortality of Artemis and the mortality of Tahmineh, explain for the contrasts between them. Besides, the incongruity between Persian and Greek social and cultural contexts, leads to the emergence of differences between the two women. Artemis is a goddess and is always described as one, she is reckless, cruel, and not committed to family life, Tahmineh on the other hand, is not cruel and is responsibly committed to matrimony. According to Straus's and Jung's theories, we can say that despite surface differences, the two characters have similarities that can be explained in terms of the common mythic structure of two nations and the common collective unconscious.

Magic realism is one of the modern narrative techniques in which all imaginary and unreal events appear wholly natural and factual all throughout the story so that they are readily admitted by the reader. Thereupon, Herta Müller’s The Land of Green Plums and Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s One Hundred Years of Solitude seem to be authored on the grounds and principles of magic realism. The present article is, in fact, a recitation of magic realism’s position in above-mentioned novels. Moreover, investigation of the manner in which the two elements are integrated in the two novels constitutes the problem of the article. Müller and Marquez both employ magic realism in their fiction, but the divergence between the two is more considerable than their points of convergence. The question that comes to mind in this regard is, “How far has magic realism, as a modern narrative technique, been reflected in The Land of Green Plums and One Hundred Years of Solitude?” Using descriptive-analytic approach, results of this article confirm the hypothesis that Herta Müller has made attempts to recite the relationship between politics and society by means of magic realism, while Marquez, in his One Hundred Years of Solitude, rewrites the interaction and conflict between conventionalism and modernism. Worthy of consideration is, also, the point that both writers call out loudly the peoples’ responsibility toward their peripheral events in the real/unreal cosmos of the novel.

By investigating the historical documents related to Emir Tamburlaine's life, the researchers carry out a comparative analysis of cultural materialism in Tamburlaine the Great, a play by Christopher Marlowe and Silva by Mexia. The objective of this research is to show the similarities and differences between the two plays from a historical perspective, elucidate the manner in which cultural materialism has influenced literary representations and explain why Marlowe has chosen to write Tamburlaine the Great. Tamburlaine has international fame for his conquests and atrocities. With his unquenchable thirst for power, he put many into death in order to achieve his goals in various lands across the world. Tamburlaine's vast bloodsheds were treated with the connivance of his European contemporaries because he demolished Europe's adversaries and was hence praised by Europeans. Spain, for instance, established an embassy in Samarkand. This led to the publication of historical books on Tamburlaine's life by Spanish writers and historians. Silva by Mexia and Tamburlaine the Great by Christopher Marlowe can be cited as examples that captured the attention of many writers and playwrights throughout the 16th century or the Elizabethan era. Thence, Marlowe has paved the way for the inauguration of cultural materialism.

HussamKhatib, the Palestinian critic and translator, is one of the most remarkable researchers in comparative literary studies in the Arab world. He has played a seminal role in inaugurating revolutionary changes in comparative literature across the Arab world and the most characteristic feature of his comparative approach is his indebtedness to the American school in general and to Henry Remak and René Wellek in particular. He criticizes the conventional outlook of some Arab comparatists who persistently employ the positivistic method of the French School of comparative literature that revolves around historical influences. He holds that French theory has narrowed the scope of comparative studies in the Arab world while the American school with its new interdisciplinary research methodology has developed the inclusionary potentials of comparative literature and has led to Arabic literature presence in the arena of comparative research. The political-cultural criticism of the Eurocentric comparativism forms another focal point of his work. With a descriptive and analytic method, the researchers have tried to introduce HussamKhatib and analyze his viewpoints on comparative literature.