The Survey of the Theory of Inspiration (Poetics of Inspiration) and the Sources of Inspiration in Ancient Persian Culture and in Persian Poetry during the Islamic Period

The most ancient literary theory held by man has been the theory of inspiration. This theory, in its earliest forms, can be traced in myths where inspiration was attributed to gods and angels; and in its most recent forms, the unconscious human mind is said to be the source of inspiration. In this paper, after reviewing the evolution of theories and models of inspiration in the West, we study the models of inspiration prevalent in the ancient Persian culture and those common in Persian Poetry of the Islamic period. The sources of inspiration in the Islamic Persian Poetry are mainly divided into: continuation of the ancient cult of inspiration and belief in the inspirational role of Surūsh; influence of pre-Islamic Arab traditions, expansion of Islamic beliefs and Quran and Hadith culture and Prophetic Tradition; and finally the development of mystical and intuitive beliefs about the originality of the unconscious, intoxication, intuition and angelic mediation. Such beliefs held that the inspiration lies in an external agency, but according to the mystical outlook, inspiration is an internal matter and can be attributed to the unconscious of the one who is inspired. Accordingly, the concept of inspiration can be analyzed with regard to modern psychological western models.