پژوهشنامه ادب غنایی
پیاپی 4 (بهار و تابستان 1384)

In this article, whatever is considered as "demon" in Naser Khosrow's Divan is studied. At first, different meanings of this term are mentioned by referring to dictionaries and by regarding its application- method in Zoroaster religion, Ferdowsi's Shahnamih and other sources. It is necessary to mention that next to Naser Khosrow, many ancient poets have used this term in their works, but Naser Khosrow is a forerunner in this respect and "demon" has a special impression in his Divan. The study of the poems of this great poet indicates that persons such as Abbasi Caliphs, Saljoqi kings, publics, ignorant, false jurists, the greedy and so on are considered as "demon". Furthermore, the poet calls the world, ignorance, body, soul, time, greed and … as "demon". By mentioning evidences from Naser Khosrow's poems and the works of other poets, we briefly talk about these demons. Since the existing related evidences to each case are numerous, only the most important ones are mentioned.

The present study attempts to describe and analyze various causes which led to the emergence of New Criticism. Factors, such as the rapid progress of science, considerable social change, stillness of literature and criticism, the follow up of social and moral values of Victorian period (1832-1901) as an obstacle in the development of literature and literary criticism, concentration on the priority of the writer instead of the text, psychological discoveries of Freud, Jung and Bergson and finally the general dissatisfaction of literary condition in the 19th century led the imagists like T.E.Hulme and Ezra Pound and along with them I. A. Richards to ponder over their literary theories and pay more attention to the texts which paved the way to the blossoming of New Criticism. This article will also consider the major principles of New Criticism and its limitations.

Myth is a narration full of symbols, discussing about the origin of the world, the gods, creation of animals, human beings and the origin of rites and traditions. It exists nearly in all cultures. As a complex phenomenon, myth is studied from different aspects and by virtue of this variant nature, it has become the model for many stories and works. This capacity has a significant place in comparative literature. In this article, besides showing the place of myth in comparative literature, we talk about the appearance of new myths from ancient ones.

The glorious appearance of Rumi and his mystic poetry has always had a specific attraction for the literary critics and the mystics in India. Many expositions are written on Masnavi in India and it is translated into different languages, namely: Urdu, Indian, English, and …. The poets have followed him in composing Masnavis. Today the learned and the scholars write lofty works about him. Allameh Shebli in his poem Al-Ajam talks about him and his works and has written a book entitled "The Adventures of Rumi". In this bereaved article we will study Shebli's perspectives about the features of Rumi's poetry.

Nahj-Al-Balaqa has a specific artistic aspect besides semantic and didactic attractions. It seems that the aphorisms in this grand work have only semantic significance and by virtue of the limitation of space have no significant artistic aspect. But further research shows that this aspect of Imam's word has excellence in eloquence and artistry. Thus, in this bereaved article we consider and analyze aphorisms in Nahj-Al-Balaqa from three perspectives, namely: tune, image, and meanings.

Undoubtedly, language is the embodiment and the symbol of mind. When mental act attains to the phase of language, it is expressed and expression is no more than words and lexicons. In fact poets make their invisible mind understandable through "what to say" and " how to say". Simin Behbahani is a successful poetess among contemporary Persian poets. She is actually the representative of "New Ghazal" nowadays. "New Ghazal" appeared under the influence of free verse. In language and expressions, this type of Ghazal has distinct differences with the classical type. Contemporary composers of Ghazal accomplish their poetical meditation through language and pleasant magical forms, instead of making use of repeated themes and a language full of unpleasant expressions. In this article, we evaluate the poetical language of this Lady of Ghazal and some of the specifications in her language.

Most of the Persian literary texts are published in India by Navalkashor; therefore, Persian literature is greatly indebted to this man. The publication of books, especially Masnavi Manavi has had good consequences such as Navalkashor's composing a poetic masnavi in which he describes the migration of Rumi from Balkh to Rum, his acquaintance with Attar and Borhan al-Din Termezi and his meeting of Shams-e-Tabrizi and composing Masnavi Manavi.

As Nizam al-Din Shami mentions at the beginning of his book, he has tried to write Amir Teymoor's account in a simple language for everyone to understand. Malek Al-Shoara's comment indicates that this book is completely simple and accurate. Other modern literati also verify Bahar's perspective. But we can see traces of technical prose in different parts of Shami's Zafarnamih. Thus, we cannot claim that this work has a completely simple prose, especially because traces of technical prose such as: the translation of Kelile va Damne, Marzbannamih, Nafat-Al-Masdour, Tarikh-e-Jahangoshay-e- Joveini are evident in this book.

There have been controversies over the definition and nature of literature, its role in life as well as its domains and practical applications since ancient times. Some scholars have applied the term in a moral sense; whereas, some others have used it in a literary sense and still others have used it in both senses. However, today literature has achieved great importance through developing ties with new sciences such as psychology, linguistics and literary criticism. A brief review of the Western literary notions and theories and the study of literary views of Plato, Aristotle, Sidney, Dryden, Johnson, Coleridge and others reveals that: Firstly, the literary movement initiated by Aristotle and lived up to the time of Coleridge was in line with the European culture, that is to say, if at the beginning their views on moral instructions had a special sense and function, in the literary domain it would lose its influence through the ages and the theme of "moral instructions" would be substituted by the theme of "enjoyment". Secondly, in defining poetry and literature we face problems and shortcomings which make it difficult to generalize the view to great literary works throughout the world. This article reviews and elaborates on the Western literary theories and the way in which they shifted from a theme of "moral teachings" to "enjoyment" and from "enlightenment" to "ambiguity". By drawing upon the theories of Khaje Nasir, Kroche, and the concept of "intuition", efforts have been made to offer a comprehensive and more functional definition of literature in order to settle most of our literary and scientific controversies.

A survey of the world literature shows that major literary works emerged from a context with rich cultural heritages. Although such works present the employment of novel literary devices, they also enjoy a great deal of benefits from their cultivated culture. In other words, cultural elements including language, religion, mysticism, philosophy, and rituals play significant roles in the formation and evolution of literary works. By providing a survey of the world literature, this paper seeks to illustrate how culture functions as a source of inspiration for the creation of literary works. It also highlights the significance of literature in shaping and maintaining culture. In short, it argues for the reflection and construction of cultural traits in literature.