A Critical Review of the Lyric Theory in Iran (Based on the Pre-Islamic Literature)

IntroductionThe classification of poems based on the literary genres is considered to be one of the oldest methods in the poetry criticism. Plato and Aristotle are the founders of this theory. Based on the views of these two great thinkers, contemporary theorists have considered the three literary genres of lyric, drama, and epic as the major literary genres. Lyric poetry has always been one of the most prominent literary genres in the history of literary criticism. The extensional and conceptual evolution of lyric poetry has got various definitions of such poetry emerged in Iran.
MethodologyThe main question of the present study is what steps lyric poetry has passed in the process of its semantic evolution. Having utilized both a descriptive-critical analysis and library resources, the author aimed to answer the question in a nutshell. And, based on the answer, the author attempted to criticize the current views on this literary genre among Iranian scholars. Then, on reviewing the pre-Islamic history and literature, the author put his efforts in demonstrating the original manifestations of such poetry in Iran.
Results and DiscussionLyric poetry has gone through three semantic stages. In other words, lyric poetry has been affected to a great extent by different sources. This poetry genre, firstly, was considered as a poem being composed to accompany the music or being sung by the accompaniment of music. Secondly, lyric poetry meant simple poems enjoying intrinsic music and being emanated from the heart of the society and the folk literature. The third source affecting lyric poetry seemed to be “personal feelings.” Accordingly, the lyric literature was originally proffered as the poems to raise personal feelings and emotions.
To accommodate the principles of the lyric literature to those of the Persian literature, many Persian literary scholars have mostly accommodated them to the poetry of the Islamic period and defined lyric poetry through considering the principles of Romanticism. This view has led to the underestimation of the poetics and original forms of the lyric poetry originating from the pre-Islamic literature in most of the Persian works. In pre-Islamic Iran, poetry and music were so closely associated. Gōsān were itinerating minstrels who sang certain poems to the king and the people with the accompaniment of music. In addition, in pre-Islamic Iran, there were specific poetic forms such as Khosravanies, hymns, Owramnes, and so forth being recited in a singing way with the accompaniment of music amongst the mass of the people. Most of such native poetic forms were continued in the post-Islamic literature. As an original form of the folk couplets, Fahlaviat is an outstanding example of such poetic forms. Rhythmic lyrics were considered as an example of lyric poetry being prolonged in the post-Islamic literature. Therefore, in the evolution of the lyric literature of any nation, these two characteristics of the lyric poetry spontaneously existing in the literature of any country should be taken into account. According to the results of the current study, it is essential to take a fresh look at the definition and principles of lyric poetry in the Persian literature.