New Historicism in Contemporary Iranian Literature

The thoughts and attitudes of writers have always been influenced by the political, social, and cultural conditions of their societies, and their personality and life inevitably affect their literary creations as well. Iranian writers are no exception to this rule, and this paper, based on the new historicism approach and Foucault and Greenblatt theories, tries to first seek the influence of the lifestyle and personality of contemporary Iranian writers of 1920 to 2000 on the creation of their works. Furthermore, the impact of social, political, and ideological relations on their works is examined. Why specific authors and their works are selected in this study is a question tried to be answered, regarding the social circumstances and events. The data reveal that the creation of any novel or short story is in a complex network of diverse elements, and the novel is not just the product of the author’s genius and creativity. The author is influenced by certain discourses in society and the quality of his chosen language and themes is the result of his attitudes, motives, and the political and socio-cultural circumstances; moreover, it is a response to the needs of society.