The Concept of Love in the Story of Sheikh San'an (by Attār Neishapouri) and the Fantasy Play of Sheikh San'an (by M. H. Meymandinejad) Based on Robert Sternberg's Ideas

The concept of love has been discussed in literature, but the cited theories have not been employed for its analysis. Love is one of the concepts that writers have paid attention to it in order to create their works. Attār Neishapouri is one of those who hase spoken much of the concept of love in his works. In Mantegh-Al-Tayr and in its anecdotes, he presents a special kind of love. One of these anecdotes is the story of Sheikh San'an, in which love is introduced as an effective element in advancing the story. In the dramatic literature of Iran, much attention has been paid to this story due to its interesting features. In contemporary era, Mohammad Hossein Meymandinejad has adapted the fantasy play of Sheikh San'an from Attar's story. In the present article, at first, Robert Sternberg's theory of love is considered and then, based on Sternberg's theory, the anecdote of Sheikh San'an and the fantasy play of Sheikh San'an by Meymandinejad are examined in order to distinguish the dimensions of love in these two works.