The Difference between Classical and Contemporary Habsyeh (Prison Poetry) in the Representation of Imagined Communities based on the Poetry of Masud Sa'd Salman and Farrokhi Yazdi

Although the concept of Habsyeh (prison poetry) can serve as a literary genre in the thematic and stylistic classification of poems, the issue of genre unity conceals the sociological and discourse manifestation of Habsyeh. Therefore, instead of stylistics that seeks to depict integrated spaces under the control of one thought, with more precise discourse analysis, the historical layers of a genre can be seen. The present study, with a genealogical approach and with an emphasis on Lacan's theory of imaginary and Anderson's imagined communities, shows that contemporary Habsyeh poetries do not follow the same imagined community and imaginary that prevailed in classical Habsyeh poetries. The common imagination that Masud Sa'd Salman refers to is vertical, holy and providence; while Farrokhi Yazdi's collective imagination is horizontal and at ground level; therefore, Masud Sa'd Salman looks to the stars and the inevitable decision of fate for liberation, and Farrokhi looks to the earth and people's awareness and uprising. For this reason, Masud Sa'd Salman's concepts and metaphors aimed to preserve the existing status, while Farrokhi Yazdi aimed at revolution.