Socio featuresin the story of Bahram-e Goor and Shangol-e Hend in the FerdowsisShahnameh (according to Van Leeuwen critical discourse pattern)

Critical discourse analysis is an interdisciplinary and modern approach in the analysis of text and discourse. The current approach to discourse analysis, in fact, minimizes the cultural, social and political contexts in which the text has been presented and studies the language in a neutral environment, but the critical approach to discourse analysis, rather, pays an especial attention to investigating the social, cultural and political forces affecting the text. Therefore, Van leeuwen, instead of linguistic indiced, takes the sociological- semantic indices for text analysis. Van leeuwen, with presenting a list of social agents’ representation and introducing each of these methods, argues that investigation of sociological- semantic components of discourse, rather than its linguistic components, gives a deeper and more general understanding of the text. To Van leeuwen, discourse is a “knowledge based on the social forces” (Ghahremani, 2014:52).
Interpreters of critical discourse recognize that literature and artistic- literary works are at service of correlation, the same as other texts, like political, social, sports and etc. therefore, they contrast, interpret and analyze the literary text according to critical approach and method. Aghagolzadeh, about the relation between literature and critical discourse analysis believes that: “linguistics, on the basis of critical discourse analysis, in relation with different kinds of literary works, stylistics and criticism is really effective for determining the analytical patterns and theoretical frameworks, to that extent which linguistic criticism is called the starting step for modern stylistics” (Aghagolzadeh, 2007:19).
The present study investigates the critical discourse analysis of kingdom of Bahram-e goor story in Ferdowsi’sShahnameh and the relation of Iran and Bahram-e goor in the Sassanid dynasty with Shangol-e Hend and Indian land; according to Yarmohammadi “one of the methods for doing a qualitative investigation is taking into account a kind of accepted theory or framework in a particular paradigm (dominant pattern), in order to analyze the data based on these principles and determine their accuracy” (Yarmohammadi, 2006:76). According to the mentioned marks and also taking into account that in discourse analysis, besides the linguistic approaches, the sociological-semantic components can lead to a deeper understanding of the text, we have qualitatively and quantitatively investigated and analyzed the story using the theoretical pattern of Van leeuwen (2008). To do this, first the text of the story (Ferdowsi, 2007, volume 6: pp. 557-605) was investigated and studied in details. Then, regarding the main goal and discourse of the author and general message of the text, the discourse- based sentences containing precision and secrecy were separated from not discourse- based sentences. Finally, the efficiency percentage of using the “precision” and “secrecy” components was determined and the results were analyzed.
Van leeuwen critical analysis pattern (2008) is one of the most prominent patterns in the field of critical discourse analysis. This pattern includes a set of sociological-semantic discourse-based components. In Van leeuwen analytical pattern framework, discourse- based structures and sociological-semantic components from the “precision and secrecy” prospect of characteristic imagination or social agents are divided into two general sections: components based on “secrecy (s)” and components based on “precision (p)”; which due to the purpose of the writer and his mental-social points of view would be highlighted. Van leeuwen (2008: pp.23-55) has mentioned 51 imagination methods in this pattern and has explained them in detail.
Using statistical calculations, the total number of sociological-semantic components is 4212 and among them, 1921 components belong to “precision” and 2291 components belong to “secrecy”. It is clear that Ferdowsi has used the secrecy components more than the precision ones. High frequency of secrecy components is a clear proof that Hakim Ferdowsi, as he himself has mentioned clearly, has presented his mental facts and discourse message of his work in an anti-context and logic- phobic manner (Ferdowsi, 2007, V:1, P 12). On the other hand, epic poems have the following characteristics. This is the introduction of epic poem: “that is a fictional and narrative poem with the heroic, mythological, tribal and national background, in which some events occur contrary to the reality” (RastegarFasaei, 2001:337). These anti-custom characteristics in companion with mysterious aspects are usually a point of discussion, as we can see in the preface of Abumansuri’sShahnameh (Abumansuri’sShahnameh, 2015:31). For decades, Ferdowsi had been induced the main discourse of his stories in the fictional framework of his epical poem which, by authors, is the necessity of nationalism, preservation of unity, opposing the outsider and cruel persons, and defeating them; therefore, he necessarily has used the secrecy components due to the governance of Arabic and Turkish governors who were cruel and outsider.
Results of the study show that in the mentioned story, aspect of meaning was so expanded among the sociological-semantic components, which can conclude mass memory, social-political institutions, morals, rituals and geographical wide perspectives. Among the sociological-semantic components of secrecy, the abstract component with 361 numbers is the highest, and the components of location and evaluation are second and third with 268 and 251, respectively. Among the sociological-semantic components of precision, the individualization component is first with 418, and activation and uniformity components are 329 and 206, respectively.
Components, especially high frequency ones, have a meaningful relation with the sociological context and fictional aspect of the text. The individualization component induces the idea of changing the historical characters to mythological characters and also reliance on the individuals in the society. Regarding to the fact that Ferdowsi himself was from the class of farmers and their life (farmers class) was mixed with the historical- mythological stories, it is clear that according to the purpose and social class of the author, Ferdowsi was legitimate to change the historical characters to heroes and sample kings and historical components to mythological components. Then, after the victory of their agents, a sense of consolation would have being created in the hearts of the people of that class (farmers). The activation component shows the act, function and dynamism of characters and agents of the story with a high frequency. The uniformity component reflects the feelings of nationalism and unity in the human society of that era. The abstract and location components are related to Ferdowsi’s anti-context and fictional narration and finally, atmosphere of the story has been evaluated positively and effectively with rooted unity of Iranian and Bahram-e goor with Indian land and Shangol-e Hend with high frequency.