A Study of the Carnival Components of Mikhail Bakhtin in Iranian Delightful Performances

Carnivals are popular and folk festivals that are in contrast with formal and dry culture. In the carnival atmosphere, social classes are overthrown. Carnival challenges the laws and values ​​of society by using tools such as criticism, satire, ridicule, and irony. Carnival stands in opposition to formal culture, disrupting the monolithic atmosphere and creating a polyphonic community with diverse conversations. Mikhail Bakhtin (1895-1975), an important theorist of the twentieth century in the field of literary criticism, with the theory of colloquial logic, created a new atmosphere in various fields, including literature. One of the main branches of this theory is carnival. The components of Bakhtin Carnival can also be examined in the category of drama. In the present study, the author intends to critique the delightful Iranian plays in the late Safavid and Qajar periods, citing evidence and examples, based on the ideas of the Bakhtin Carnival.

The present study attempts to examine the relationship between this type of play with Bakhtin’s views on carnival and the possibility of applying Bakhtin carnival theory in these plays by examining Iranian happy plays and structural and content analysis of these plays.

This study is descriptive-analytical. In this research, valid Iranian and non-Iranian sources (in the form of books, articles, notes, and conversations with experts in two categories of text and performance) were used.

Delightful performances in Iran a space as a carnival so that people, regardless of social class, come together and criticize the existing space in the official space of society with fun and happiness together. In freedom and equality, real dialogue is formed and the general public is liberated and calmed in a short period.