National and Patriotic functions in Ra’di Azarakhshi’s poetry using epic approach

In every society there exists a kind of collective consciousness known as national awareness and it is expressed in Persian literature as national patriotic theme.  The purpose of this article is to discuss and evaluate Gholam Ali Ra’di Azarakhshi’s viewpoints regarding Persian language, culture, civilization, and social values of Iran and to study and analyze national and patriotic themes in his compositions. Furthermore, the application of contemporary epic literature in his compositions is studied.  Using descriptive analytic and library approach the attempt is made in this article to study themes such as patriotism, antagonism towards enemy, also to study national and historical characters.  The results obtained show that Ra’di paid special attention towards contemporary epic functions such as anti-colonialism, national identity and language, preservation of independence and territorial integrity.  His attitude towards the concept of homeland and patriotism is to a large extent different from that of other poets.  The vastness of his thoughts in celebrating national and historical figures spans past till present characters.