نشریه پژوهش های ادبی
پیاپی 23 (بهار 1388)

In valid historical and literary texts, where many of the Semitic prophets have been historically identified with the kings and heroes of Iran’s contemporary national history, there is no trace of Christ’s name among the prophets compared; whereas considering the integration of Christ’s personality and fate with a diversity of fictional elements and motifs (such as mythological, epical and folkloric ones)- which naturally pave the way appropriately for such mentioned identification- is contemplative. Through a survey of historicalfictional narratives related to Christ, and comparing it with the mythological, epical and folkloric news about Siavash and Keikhosorw in the Iranian sources, sixteen partial and general identifications are observed between Christ and Siavash; in addition to twenty noticeable other similarities between Christ and Keikhosrow which are quite interesting regarding their types and number. This research has surveyed each instance thoroughly and clarified it, finally concluding that most probably the most common and most comparative personalities in the Semitic narratives and the Iranian narratives are Christ, Siavash and keikhosrow. That is, it seems that the life and features of these three have been discussed through a unique pattern, and according to their characteristics, their common themes and motifs are discussed.

We will answer the question; “what is the ‘action pattern’ in the story plot of “Gonbade-Pirooze” and what does this pattern imply and demonstrate?” through the analysis of the plot in narrative theories. Through this structural research we will recognize men’s mind once he is creating a mystical narrative. Theodore and Grimace’s methods have been used for the analysis of this narrative. The basic principle in Theodore’s method is the identification of the pattern of fictional actions and the inscription of the principal theme. With the identification of these two factors, it is verified that the process of development and establishment of fictional actions in Mahan’s story corresponds with Hobot’s story and the main motif is identical. For proving this the sameness, Grimace’s method is used; which is based on reciprocal fictional pairs, in addition to the pattern of actors (characters); while in this way the correspondence and parallelism of the characters of these two stories is shown. Considering the available evidence, it can be concluded that Mahan’s story lies in the category of mystical stories; while it has roots in the story of Hobot.

This research analyzes the term “soul”, one of the magnificent secret codes in Shams’ sonnets; the eternal masterpiece created by Jalal-Eddin Mohammad Balkhi. Through using the diverse functions of ‘soul’ in this analysis, the variety of its meanings are perceived and the transcendental path of this concept is known. The perception of the different concepts of ‘soul’ takes place in three steps; in the first stage the lexical concept of soul is perceived through the relation existing among synonyms, antonyms and symmetry. In the second stage, the perception of the concept of ‘soul’ happens through its attributes and adjectives. And finally in the third stage the concept of ‘soul’ is perceived by figures of speech; simile, metaphor and symbol. The authors then have studied the concept of ‘soul’ throughout the great poetry book; making an attempt to elaborate and express the concealed concepts underlying it; trying to show how ‘soul’ goes beyond a mere lexical function and finally reaches a symbolic stage; while this study shows the concepts and traits of meanings it bears within each stage

In the present study, the theory of Roqayeh Hassan on the emergence and development of verbal aesthetics in children is surveyed. According to this theory, a child unconsciously and involuntarily learns literature through hearing children’s lullabies and poetry. The child then identifies the phonetic, semantic and syntactical patterns in the poems and as a result a potentiality is formed in his mind; which builds up the basics of his verbal aesthetics in the following years. In this study, among the literary genres we merely focus on poetry. And among the literary patterns, we solely focus on phonetic patterns. It is noticeable that in this writing, investigation about the overlapping realms and at the same time the differences between ‘language’ and ‘literature’- as two of the scopes within the scopes of mind- exist at the background of all the discussions. In the next stage we will study what demands and theoretical consequences learning literature for teaching literature to children has due to the mentioned assumption. Based on the findings of this research, in children’s understanding and perception of literature, form prevails content and the cultivation of this assumption plays a significant role in developing their literary potential within the following years. Therefore, in writing children’s poetry it is better to pay sufficient attention to the aesthetic form and the manner in which the poetry is expressed rather than presenting complicated and educational content; especially in the early years of childhood. Among the aesthetic features of children’s poetry, pleasant and delicate phonetic patterns enjoy a vital significance. In the final part of this research we will investigate this question; to what extent the present theory and some of the other theories are useful in clarifying the major sources of literature? Are there other similar theories for the manner of elaboration and perception of literature? Does understanding the major source and the process of elaborating literature helps in understanding its entity?

Nowadays one of the diverse approaches to literary works considers both form and content simultaneously; avoiding the extreme borders of followers of formalism and content-based theories. Individuals such as Bakhtin and Goldman had based their research methods on such an approach. In this approach, it is believed that there is a tight and strong relationship between the work’s content and the concealed insight in it with the text of the work. The analysis of Sohrab Sepehri’s poetry can prove the appropriateness of this approach; because one can connect Sepehri’s anti- Custom contemplations and his norm-avoiding language. The study of Sepehri’s poetry shows that his anti- Custom thoughts influenced his language as well. Several instances of normavoiding and norm-breaking characteristics observed in his poetry prove this point. The interesting point is that among the high variety of norm-avoiding types (semantic, lexical and epochal), he has mostly used semantic order-avoiding ones such as identification, paradox, application of new images and compositions, symbols and intertwining of sensations; using the other order-avoiding devices less. The reason for this issue should be sought in Sohrab’s particular thought system and mind; which on one hand seeks to pay more attention to meaning and presentation of mystical motifs and thoughts; while on the other hand it negates any kind of approach to the past and constantly looks for innovation and purification of the universe. As a result, one cannot expect him to utilize epochal norm-avoiding devices which oppose to his intellectual and rational system.

Gashtassb is one of the well-known kings of the Kiyani dynasty. Based on Zoroastrian sources, he promotes improving religion and a favored kingdom. In Avesta and Pahlavi scripts, his wife is named Hotos; an Iranian girl from the Nozar race. Yet there are obvious differences among the personality of Gashtassb and his wife in Avesta and the Pahlavi scripts with the descriptions of these characters in Shah-Nameh by Ferdowsi. In Shah-Nameh, Gashtassb has a negative and undesirable characteristic. Also, unlike these mentioned texts, in Shah-Nameh his wife is called Katayoon; and their union takes place during Gashtassb’s trip to Rome. The present paper makes an attempt to introduce Gashtassb and his wife; while it discusses the dual differences within different texts; such as Avesta and Shah-Nameh.

The literary-historical book entitled as “Taj-ol-Maasser”, is one of the oldest source books on the history of Ghoorian; whose author lived in the Indian governmental state of Ghooriyan. Taj-ol-Maasser, written in 602 A.H., possesses a high historical and literary significance. This book applies literary devices and figures of speech to a high extent, while its allusions to Arabic and Persian texts have made it a pioneering work in Persian literary prose style. The mentioned book has highly influenced the books appearing after it. Unfortunately, despite the exclusive features of Taj-ol-Maasser as a literary-historical book, it has not been published in Iran so far and there is not any independent research and study on this book and the author available either. The authors of the present study have tried to survey the features of the mentioned book through an analytical and critical attitude, and offer a brief biography of the author; which has been expressed incompletely and disorganized in the available sources. Finally some of the questions regarding the unknown aspects of his life, such as religion and mysticism, are answered.