A Comparative Study of Prefiguration in the Modern Novel

One of the areas of research in Comparative Literature is the investigation of similarities and evolution of literary techniques in world literature. In the literature of the twentieth century, experimentation and innovative models of narration came to the fore and led to the formation of new expressive tools. Adaptation of other literary texts, or "prefiguration" as John White calls it, is one of the literary techniques in modern novels. A comparative study of prefiguration helps us to trace the development of an idea and the changes it undergoes in different texts. There are instances, in what critics call modern Persian literature, of such structural adaptations; Abbas Marufi's Symphony of the Dead can be cited as an example. In this novel, Marufi has used the ancient story of Abel and Cane as prefiguration. The comparison of this novel with similar Western novels would reveal to us how successful Marufi has been in adapting this technique in his book.