Study of Tradition and Modernity in Archaic Plays from 1921 until 1941 (With a Sociological Approach)

This article intends to study Tradition, Modernity and the relationship between them in the Archaic plays of the Pahlavi era, by a dramatic model, adapted from the sociological concepts. Tradition is the continued existence of the past, in the present time, which can occur in written form. On the other hand, in third world countries, Modernity is the imitation of standards in the developed countries in various aspects of social life. Despite the initial theories about these two concepts, they are not necessarily in contrast with each other, and sometimes they can overlap. An example of this overlap can be found in nationalistic movements, one of which occurred in contemporary Iran, under the ruling of the first Pahlavi king, which lasted until 1941. This article tries to track the reflection of Tradition, Modernity and the relationship between them in the Archaic plays of the the Pahlavi era, with a descriptive and analytic method. It aims to show that in these texts, the two concepts overlap with one another. The scope of the study is limited to playwrights such as Sadegh Hedayat, Zabih Behrooz, Gregory Yeghikian, and most importantly Mirzadeh Eshghi. Malekpour identifies these writers as some of the most prominent ones of this period. This study tries to find out which dramatic aspects of Archaic plays reflect Tradition, Modernity and their relationship? It seems Traditions are reflected in aspects, such as characters, setting, and the theater language. At the same time, these texts are modern because of their literary genre, and their nationalistic theme, which entered Iran after its acquaintance with Europe. This overlap makes Archaic plays both modern and true to their Iranian Identity.