Evolution of Structure and Form of Ghazal from Constitution Era to PostIslamic Revolution of Iran

In the Constitution Era, Ghazal, as other poetic forms, faced an expression of lyricism and was tinged with national and patriotic ideals. The poets of liberalism merged ghazals with labor mottos and social issues thus to make changes in the “thematic unity” of this poetic form. For instance, Farokhi Yazdi’s ghazals have therefore disparate structures. After Nima Youshij’s “The Myth”, ghazal faced certain evolutions in form and structure in the streams of “Mid Ghazlas”, “Model ghazals: Imagery ghazals”, and “Post-modern ghazals”. Changes in written form of ghazals conducted by Manochehr Neistani and Mohammad Ali Bahmni were considered as the primary efforts for changing the formal structure of ghazals, which faced a break in the 1990s and 2000’s and continued then after. In general, the contemporary ghazal in its “internal form” has experienced some changes, deconstruction, and the lack of thematic unity, and sometimes in its “external form” it has faced changes and innovations . In the present paper, after reviewing ghazals of certain most famous poets of the contemporary era, the innovations, weaknesses and the strengths of its internal and external form is analyzed. The content of contemporary ghazals, rather than being similar to that of old ones, is much similar to the contemporary poems. And for a poem that is supposed to communicate with modern man, this is a necessity. Writing ghazals in this era is not "Bearing a grudge against Nima Yushij, but is to take steps on the path he had paved” (Bahmani, 1998: 9). In this paper, the content of Farrokhi Yazdi’s ghazals are analyzed as samples for ghazals of the constitutional era. It is understood that his ghazal is already politicized before it has lyricism in it and the structure of his ghazal is binary. For better understanding of the evolution and innovation of the contemporary ghazal, one must consider ghazal of Natel Khanlari and solo-ghazal of Foroogh Farrokhzad. The romantic atmosphere and presence of nature in the form of poetry are among the characteristics of Khanlari’s works. His style was continued after the August of 1941 and then the modern ghazal of Iran was formed from among these experiments. A type of ghazal that has nothing to do with traditional Persian lyrical poetry and, out of its form, it can be considered a piece of “Modern Persian Poetry”. The solo ghazal of Farrokhzad is a start for the modern strem of ghazal and poetry, a type of ghazal that in terms of form is similar to that of Nima Yushij’s has become a turning point in the history of ghazal. In another part of the paper, the form cohesive structure and form of Hooshang Ebtehaj’s ghazals are analyzed as samples of mid-ghazal. Ebtehaj’s ghazals could not help to modernize thestruture of ghazal and that was due to the traditionalism in it. There is modernity only in the language of his ghazals that it can be considered a prelude for the poets following him. Besides modern poems, Neiestani also has ghazals too, where his modernism is evident. One of the innovative steps he took for ghazal was the similarity of his ghazals to those of Nima’s. Mohammad Ali Bahmani also continued Neiestani in his ghazals and somewhat perfected his style. To express the feelings of a people in an era is the achievement that a poet has gained it. The subject of “narrative in ghazal” I among the comprehensive aspects that has been originated from the modern ghazal and reached the highest points in the post revolution era and the 1990s. The ghazals of Monzavi, Behbahani, and young poets such as “Mohammad Saeid Mirzaee” have the element of narration. In general, the form of ghazal has faced ups and downs because of its complicated and valuable history. Sometimes, it has faced structural raptures and sometimes has found new forms by the newly sighted motivations. One of the secrets of longevity of ghazal is the textual coherence in the subjective form and the external framework, which has reached sublimity with narrative. Ghazal in the last century has experienced manifold subjective and objective structures.