An Examination of Utopian Characteristics in the Poetry of Sohrab Sepehri and Their Comparison with Thomas More’s Utopian Ideas

Abstract

Humankind has always sought to improve the world in which it lives. To this end, human beings have envisioned an ideal world and endeavored to bring it into existence. Among Western intellectual figures, Thomas More is regarded as one of the earliest thinkers to discuss utopia and its defining characteristics. In Persian literary culture, Sohrab Sepehri likewise repeatedly speaks of a city that appears idealistic and virtuous. The primary objective of the present study is to compare the approaches of these two literary figures, one belonging to Western culture and the other having developed within an Eastern cultural context. Employing a descriptive-analytical method and drawing on library-based sources, the present study found that the utopias envisioned by More and Sepehri share several common characteristics, including “the happiness and dynamism of the inhabitants,” “the people’s freedom from a propensity for violence and their affinity with nature,” “the prioritization of others over oneself,” “the possession of erudition, civility, and humanity,” “the absence of class divisions and discrimination,” “the lack of greed among the people,” and “a profound enthusiasm for the acquisition of knowledge.” Furthermore, the descriptions offered by both literary figures incorporate a combination of epistemological and this-worldly concerns. The convergence between their perspectives indicates that utopian beliefs are rooted in the human condition and are not confined to any particular spatial or temporal context.