A Literary Figure or a Behavioral Reaction!; A Review of ‌“angosht gazidan” in Iranian Literature and Painting

Problem statement: 

Surprise, shame and guilt are considered to be human emotions. Reactions to these emotions are subject to biological and cultural issues. Looking at the Iranian art and literature in the context of history, it seems that one of the reactions of amazed and regretful people in the Iranian culture has been angosht gazidan, as it can be found numerously in ancient Iranian texts, ancient poetry, and painting. Since this reaction can only be seen in the cultural history of Iran, it should be attributed to the specific culture of Iranians.

The objective of this research is to find the historical course of angosht gazidan in Iranian literature and painting and examine whether this reaction has been derived from the behavioral reaction of Iranians.

 Research method:

This research applies the descriptive-historical method by reviewing library sources and documents to study the term angosht gazidan in ancient Persian literature and painting. It is tried to select and study at least one literary and artistic sample related to the subject from each century. The sample will be compared to the biographies of travelers about the behavior of Iranians who visited Iran during these years in an emotional state to find out whether the gesture is a literary figure or a behavioral reaction.

Angosht gazidan is merely a literary term. It has never had any real manifestation in the Iranian society. None of the travelers who wrote about Iran and Iranian culture in the context of history have mentioned this reaction in their behavior. The poet has benefited from this metonymy for exaggeration and its beauty. This has made it inclusive throughout the Iranian literature. The association between Iranian literature and painting has led to the depiction of this gesture and its objective presentation in the painting.