The Impact of Carnivalesque Features on the Representation of Social Classes in Persian Proverbs: Volume I of Dehkhoda’s Amsal va Hekam
Keywords:
folk literature, proverb, Bakhtinian carnival, Ali Akbar Dehkhoda, social critique, polyphonyAbstract
Persian lyrical literature has always reflected the social, cultural, and political conditions of Iranian society, with its great poets and writers using poetry and prose to express their pains, ideals, and critiques. Among these, folk literature especially proverbs plays a crucial role in conveying social and political meanings as part of the people’s oral culture. Proverbs, with their simple and concise language, reflect concepts such as justice, inequality, corruption, power, hope, and criticism of the status quo. Because of their popular nature, they are considered one of the most effective tools of collective expression.
This study, drawing on Mikhail Bakhtin’s theory of the carnivalesque, analyzes the carnivalesque features found in the proverbs of Volume I of Ali Akbar Dehkhoda’s Amsal va Hekam. Elements such as ridicule, mockery, grotesque, norm inversion, laughter, humor, and criticism of power are identified and examined to reveal their critical and dialogic function within folk literature.
The novelty of this research, compared to previous domestic and international studies, lies in its focus on proverbs as short, highly condensed texts that have rarely been analyzed within the framework of carnivalesque theory, despite their considerable capacity to represent cultural resistance, social inversion, and critique of official discourse.
Findings indicate that proverbs function not only as part of linguistic cultural heritage but also as tools for reflecting the real lives of people, expressing critical discourse, and fostering social resistance. This research highlights the importance of reinterpreting proverbs through the lens of contemporary literary theory and shows that carnivalesque elements can be key to uncovering the hidden layers of social critiq ue embedded in oral culture.
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