Treasury of Persian Language and Literature

The mystical poetry of Hakim Sana’i of Ghazna, as one of the foundational pillars of Persian Sufi literature, is deeply interwoven with paradoxes and seemingly contradictory propositions that challenge formal logic. This study, aiming to reinterpret these contradictions as the apex of Sana’i’s artistic power, employs a descriptive-analytical approach within the framework of Croce’s aesthetic theory of “intuition-expression.” Accordingly, the central paradoxical themes—such as self-denial, love, and annihilation (fanā)—were extracted and analyzed in two domains: “intuition” (raw mystical experience) and “expression” (its artistic formulation) in Sana’i’s Hadīqat al-Haqīqa. The findings demonstrate that Sana’i’s artistry lies in the “successful expression” and mastery of these tumultuous intuitions within a cohesive and aesthetically pleasing artistic form. Through the force of language, he casts contradictory content into a firm mold and triumphs over semantic disorder. Consequently, contradiction in Sana’i’s poetry is not a logical deficiency, but rather the “raw material” of art that attests to the victory of “expression” over “intuition,” and to the poet’s ability to transform conflict into a lasting and influential artistic object.

Greek tragedy, as the most significant literary-dramatic form of ancient Greece, emerged from the lived experiences of citizens within the polis-centered Greek civilization and, at the same time, was theoretically and ideologically rooted in cosmos-centric nihilism. This influence persisted throughout the history of ancient Greece and remains evident. In fact, it can be argued that since the polis, as a particular social and political structure, played a fundamental role in Greek civilization, it also had crucial importance in the formation and development of tragedy. On the other hand, cosmos-centric nihilism also depicted in tragedy the crisis of meaning, determinism, and the human condition of helplessness against the forces of nature, the gods, and a blind fate. The analysis of the works of the three great tragedians of Greece demonstrates that the Greek way of thinking, their interpretation of humanity and the origin of the cosmos, and the prevailing worldview of cosmos-centrism had a profound impact on the emergence and evolution of tragedy. In this context, the heroes of tragedy wander between law and morality, the individual and the collective, will and determinism, and the quest for meaning versus the experience of meaninglessness. This study examines the simultaneous influence of two foundational factors—the socio-political structure of the polis and cosmos-centric nihilism—on the formation and development of Greek tragedy, with emphasis on the works of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides. Employing a descriptive-analytical approach and a comparative study of classical texts and contemporary sources, this research clarifies and interprets the impact of the polis and the nihilistic and cosmos-centered thought of the Greeks on tragedy. The findings of this study reveal that Greek tragedy reflects the belief that the destiny of humanity is deeply intertwined with the cosmos and its political manifestation, namely the polis. This worldview also illustrates the tension between human agency and the blind predetermined fate under the will of the gods, while representing the fundamental ontological, moral, and political crises arising from this tension.

The analytical tool of cultural linguistics is conceptualization, one of whose components is categorization. The subject of this study is the categorization of the sense of vision in Persian, based on the cultural linguistics perspective of Sharifian (2012). The categories of vision are formed within the framework of various concepts such as thought, worldview, and aspiration. According to him, the model of studying emotions can be applied to investigate concepts related to the senses. The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the concepts of categories employed in vision and their multiple conceptualizations. Accordingly, the identification and understanding of speakers’ culture are achieved through the cultural categories of vision. Data obtained from several fictional works have been examined in terms of similarities and differences in conceptualizations. The findings of this study indicate that the cultural understanding of the categories of vision and their conceptualizations reflects their wide-ranging applications in scientific contexts and in everyday language. This implies that language is a reflection of sensory experiences and the cultural worldview of its speakers.

This study, with a scientific and critical approach, analyzes various types of deviations from norms present in the masnavis of Mantiq al-Tayr, Ilahi-Nama, Musibat-Nama, and Asrar-Nama, and examines both the quantity and quality of their application. Literature, as a linguistic art, plays a significant role in capturing the attention of its audience. The aim of this research is to investigate linguistic deviations from norms in the masnavis of Attar of Nishapur. Literary language is shaped through deviation from the ordinary norms of language, and such linguistic deviations can contribute to enhancing the impact of literature. Although the concept of deviation from norms is a relatively modern discussion within the Formalist school, the essence of literature has always been intertwined with such linguistic deviations. In this context, Attar of Nishapur, by employing different forms of semantic, syntactic, and phonological deviations, has succeeded in foregrounding and enhancing the literariness of his poetry. Semantic deviation includes the creation of poetic images through simile, metaphor, personification, and metonymy, which bestow a poetic quality upon the poet’s language. Furthermore, due to the necessity of meter and musicality, Attar resorts to syntactic deviations, and for the sake of defamiliarization and creating strangeness in expression, he employs phonological deviations. The use of archaic and obsolete vocabulary is also a prominent feature of his poetry. Although dialectal deviation is less pronounced in his works, words from the Nishapuri dialect and other dialects of Khorasan are evident in his poetry.

Fantasy, or the imaginative tale, deals with an illusory and imaginary world and unreal phenomena, and due to its blending of elements of imagination and reality, the normalization of impossibilities, or the depiction of astonishing things distant from reality, it holds a special place in narrative literature. Since Isfahan, as one of the cultural centers of Iran, possesses many fantasy stories, this article seeks, through library resources and by means of a descriptive–analytical method, to examine the animal fantasy elements in eight children’s folktales of the people of Isfahan. The findings of this study indicate the existence of various types of composite animal fantasy characters (animal and human), the presence of an archetypal character in only one tale, the combination of both magical and innovative types in a number of animal characters, the shared nature of supernatural actions among animal fantasy characters or natural actions among real characters, and the presence of symbolism in many of the narrative characters examined. These reflect moral and educational themes or motifs with ethical, instructional, and social aspects, conveyed practically through the actions of the characters. Therefore, this scientific inquiry demonstrates that the prominent feature of fantasy actions lies in their supernatural or abnormal nature. Moreover, the elements of character, motif, and theme in this study, beyond highlighting the mindset or temperament of the characters to the audience, or transmitting profound educational, moral, or social messages to children through narrative figures, also possess, in a scientific and valuable manner, the capacity to be applied comparatively to other animal fantasy tales throughout Isfahan.

In this study, the psychological analysis of the character The Little Black Fish is conducted based on Jung’s theory of individuation. The Little Black Fish, as the most well-known literary work for adolescents, reflects the experiences and behaviors of a generation—a generation that sacrificed its life for its ideals. The structure of the story, like ancient myths, is founded upon the motif of a journey. The Little Black Fish does not accept the status quo and begins a journey from the stream toward the sea. This work can also be regarded as the author’s conclusion. He considers the way to overcome the adverse conditions described in his other tales to be through gaining awareness of the root causes of such circumstances and taking action to change them. The sense of individuation in The Little Black Fish is not imposed but voluntary. In fact, what drives The Little Black Fish into solitude and entry into the cycle of consciousness is not rejection by society but the inability to tolerate the pond and its inhabitants. The research method applied is content analysis. Sources were collected through reference to books, reputable scientific journals, periodicals, and internet searches. In the examination of education, and by synthesizing the research findings, it can be concluded that the reflection of educational themes in this story is mostly influenced by leftist discourse as well as prevalent national and religious discourses, and stands in opposition to the discourse of domination (the discourse of despotism).

Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh, the greatest epic of Persian literature, is not merely a collection of battles and heroic tales but a profound philosophical, ethical, and cultural meditation on the survival of Iranian identity. Within this monumental text, defense is conceptualized not only as military confrontation but as a multidimensional art encompassing wisdom, justice, cultural creativity, and spirituality. The analysis of the preface and the early books of the Shahnameh demonstrates how defense emerges in various forms—natural, legitimate, technological, cultural, and social—as the very foundation of civilization. Figures such as Keyumars, Hushang, Tahmuras, Jamshid, Fereydun, Sam, Zal, Rostam, Siyavash, and Kay Khosrow each embody distinct aspects of the art of defense, ranging from natural and technological protection to ethical, cultural, and sacred defense. Through powerful language and symbolic narratives, Ferdowsi transforms defense into an eternal identity marker, while his preservation of the Persian language itself stands as the highest form of cultural defense. This study argues that defense in the Shahnameh is not limited to martial valor but constitutes a civilizational art, forming the central theme of Ferdowsi’s epic vision.

The present study examines and analyzes the role of moral virtues such as love, patience, humility, and repentance in the mystical conduct of Rumi based on The Divan of Shams. Rumi, as one of the most prominent Islamic mystics, emphasizes the importance of purification and refinement of the soul in the path toward attaining divine knowledge. The main objective of this research is to identify and analyze these moral virtues, as well as to examine moral vices such as pride, greed, and suspicion, which, from Rumi’s perspective, are considered serious obstacles to the purification of the soul. The research method is qualitative and is based on qualitative and literary content analysis of selected verses from The Divan of Shams. The research data were collected and analyzed through the review of valid domestic and foreign sources. The findings of this study indicate that moral virtues, as key instruments of purification and refinement of the soul, lead human beings to spiritual perfection and proximity to God. Rumi identifies divine love as the most important driving force for liberation from worldly constraints, and he presents patience and humility as tools for combating egotistical obstacles. Likewise, moral vices such as greed and pride are recognized as serious impediments in the mystical path, and Rumi stresses the necessity of confronting these vices. The present study demonstrates that Rumi, in The Divan of Shams, introduces moral virtues as a path to self-purification and spiritual perfection. Love, patience, humility, and repentance constitute fundamental pillars in his mystical conduct. Conversely, combating moral vices is essential to reaching divine truth. It is recommended that further research be conducted on the impact of Rumi’s moral virtues on everyday and social life.