Treasury of Persian Language and Literature

The present article, adopting the approach of psychological criticism—a branch of modern literary criticism—aims to contribute to a deeper understanding of literary works and their creators. This method of critique and analysis focuses on the hidden dimensions, as well as the internal and psychological states, of the author and the characters. It assists the reader in achieving a more comprehensive perception of the literary work and in attaining a greater familiarity with its meaning and essence. The current study, using a descriptive-analytical method, investigates and critiques the characters in the novel Kelidar through the lens of psychological theories developed by prominent thinkers such as Freud, Jung, and Adler. The central question addressed in this study is: what is the psychoanalytic profile of the characters in Kelidar according to the theories of Freud, Jung, and Adler? The findings indicate that this novel, which is based on real events, portrays the multifaceted personalities of its main characters. Each character is accompanied by a "mask," "shadow," and "id," and they frequently undergo personality disturbances. Nevertheless, with the aid of their inner strength and the guidance of a wise elder, some characters—such as Gol-Mohammad and Zivar—achieve inner peace, while others—such as Belqis and Sattar—come into alignment with their own masks and, in the role of the wise elder, support other characters in the pursuit of individuation and self-realization.

The novel "Kalider" by Mahmoud Dolatabadi is one of the most prominent works of contemporary Persian literature, which, with its powerful language and extensive narrative, presents a profound picture of Iranian society and its developments. This novel not only narrates an epic and fascinating story, but also deals with a detailed and critical examination of the social and cultural systems of society. One of the main themes of this work is the criticism of the class system and its impact on the lives of individuals and human relationships. The class system, as one of the most important social structures, plays a decisive role in shaping the fate of humans in various societies, especially traditional and transitional societies. This system, which is based on the division of society into different economic, social, and cultural classes, often causes inequality, conflict, and discrimination. Thematic criticism of the class system, that is, examining and condemning this unjust structure and its negative consequences, has a special place in literature, especially in novels. The aim of this article is to reflect the concept of the class system in the novel "Kalider" from the perspective of thematic criticism. Using theories of literary sociology, especially the views of Marx, Bourdieu and other contemporary theorists. This research attempts to examine the different dimensions and opposition of the superior and inferior classes in the work. Social classes that differ not only in access to wealth but also in access to culture, education and lifestyle, and these differences facilitate the reproduction of inequalities. Literature is an approach that, by criticizing the class system, condemns unjust social structures and challenges them from the perspective of social justice. The research method in this article is an analytical-interpretive method that emphasizes the analysis of the main text of the novel and its connection with social theories.

        جامعه‌شناسی ساختارگرا، رویکردی نظری برای شناخت نظام‌ها و ساختارهای اجتماعی است که مفاهیم و رفتارهای اجتماعی را شکل می‌دهند.  این نوع از جامعه شناسی تلاشی برای استفاده از مدل­ها و نظریه­ها جهت تبیین و توسعه سیستم­ها و ساختارهای جامعه است که بر اساس مدل سازی و الگوسازی طرح بندی می­شوند. مطالعه­ی جامعه شناختی حکایت‌های مثنوی از آنجا که مروری بر چگونگی تفسیر و نحوه‌ی واکنش اعضای اجتماع به حوادث و پدیده­های مختلف است، می­تواند نقدها  و تحلیل­های معتبر و قابل قبولی در باره­ی جامعه­ی زمان آفرینش این اثر ارائه دهد. با استفاده از الگوها و نمودارهای مختلف و نقد و تحلیل­های مبتنی بر این الگوها و مدل­ها و همچنین با تجزیه و تحلیل حکایت­های مثنوی، بر اساس الگوها و مدل­های ذکر شده، امکان درک همه جانبه­ای از رفتار و واکنش اعضای جامعه به مسائل مختلف فراهم می­ود. این مطالعه جامعه شناختی می­تواند به شناسایی علل زمینه‌ای در پس رفتارها و واکنش‌های خاص و نیز تأثیرات آن‌ها بر پویایی اجتماعی کمک کند. علاوه بر این، می‌تواند بینشی در مورد نحوه تعامل سیستم‌های اجتماعی مختلف با یکدیگر ارائه دهد، که به تصمیم‌گیری آگاهانه‌تر در مورد بهترین نحوه­ی مدیریت بر نهادهای اجتماعی کمک کند. ازجمله کنش­ها واکنش‌های افراد در جامعه که تعاملات افراد را در موقعیت­های مختلف اجتماعی تحت تأثیر قرار می­دهد، اعتقاد به جبر مطلق یا  اختیار تام در انجام امور زندگی روزمره است. از بررسی دفترهای شش گانه مثنوی، این نتیجه حاصل شد که موضوع  فوق پیچیده و بحث برانگیز وتا حدودی غیر قابل تفکیک می‌باشد. مولانا از ابراز نظر جزمی و قطعی درباره­ی این موضوعات پرهیز نموده است؛ ولی جبری را که مورد سوءاستفاده کاهلان و نادانان می‌شود، مذموم و ناپسند می‌داند و اختیاری را که موجب زیاده خواهی و هرج ومرج می‌شود، ناروا می‌شمرد.

Although the requirements of education and training have not been articulated in modern terms, they have long been present in classical literary texts according to the prevalent practices of their respective eras. Today, through the classification, formulation, extraction, and discovery of educational principles and methods—and by reinterpreting and aligning them with the content of didactic literature—it becomes evident that while modern principles may appear novel in terminology and form, they bear little substantive difference from the educational elements found in classical didactic texts. Thorndike's theory is one of the contemporary educational theories. It is structured around the principles of readiness, exercise, and set, and is regarded as one of the fundamental frameworks in modern psychology of education. The components introduced in this theory for education and training are observable and analyzable within the two didactic works Qabusnameh and Kalila and Dimna. This study aims to extract the educational principles and foundations in these two texts in accordance with Thorndike's theory.

The aim of the present study is to examine the image of women in Persian mystical verse literature up to the 15th century CE. The research method is descriptive-analytical and is based on library sources. The findings indicate that throughout a woman's life, she embodies symbols of delicacy and beauty. In girlhood, she represents purity, emotion, and sentiment. Upon marriage, she becomes a symbol of affection, love, and compassion; and when she becomes a mother, she turns into an icon of sacrifice, selflessness, and devotion. Referring to mystical literature, beauty in women is sometimes depicted as external and at other times as internal. Woman is a symbol of light. From the perspective of the Sufis and mystics, the woman is at times introduced as a symbol of human attributes and even characterized by divine-like qualities, while at other times she is assigned a demonic position or status. Sometimes she embodies virtuous traits, and sometimes she is marked by reprehensible and undesirable attributes. Women in mystical narrative poems occupy the highest ranks. After these mystical works, women in Bustan by Saadi are portrayed in a way that only acknowledges the guardianship and unquestioned dominance of men.

Jamshid, one of the most mythical and enigmatic kings in Iranian culture, undergoes fundamental transformations in position and identity in his transition from the Avesta to the Shahnameh—from the radiant and order-establishing Jamshid of the Avestan texts to the proud and exiled monarch in Ferdowsi’s epic. This article, by focusing on a reinterpretation of the myth of Jamshid, seeks to analyze the linguistic and psychological mechanisms of his representation by drawing on the key concepts of Jacques Lacan’s structural psychoanalysis, including the “mirror stage,” the “big Other,” “desire,” and the “unconscious structured like a language.” The research methodology is qualitative and based on comparative-conceptual analysis, focusing on two core texts: the Avesta and the Shahnameh. The findings suggest that Jamshid’s downfall is not merely the result of personal pride, but rather a reflection of the subject’s rupture in the face of the structures of desire, power, and language—a subject who, in the struggle with the gaze of the “Other” and the constraints of discourse, fails to achieve coherent identity. This study, by linking the mythical unconscious with the heroic language, attempts to reveal layers of Iranian identity and its internal conflicts as mirrored in the myth of Jamshid.

Children’s and adolescents’ poetry, as a form of lyrical literature, plays a significant role in the development of language, imagination, and emotions in young readers. One of the fundamental components in attracting young audiences is the use of internal music within the structure of the poem—music that emerges through techniques such as repetition, paronomasia (pun), alliteration, and assonance. This study aims to examine the function of internal music in folk poems for children and adolescents and to analyze the aesthetic strategies employed in this genre. The research method is descriptive-analytical, based on textual analysis of selected poems by contemporary poets in the field of children’s and adolescents’ literature. Data were collected through purposive sampling and analyzed with a focus on phonetic elements and rhetorical devices. The findings of the study revealed that free repetition and phonetic repetition had the highest frequency in the poems analyzed and contributed significantly to the creation of rhythm, euphony, and conceptual retention in the audience’s mind. Moreover, the widespread use of paronomasia and alliteration led to the creation of linguistic playfulness, enhanced auditory appeal, and stimulated children’s creativity. Assonance was also frequently used as a technique to reinforce the resonance and fluidity of the poem. The results of this study indicate that internal music not only enhances the aesthetic dimension of children’s poetry but also serves as an effective factor in strengthening language skills, facilitating the learning process, and fostering emotional connection with the audience. These findings underscore the importance of children’s poets paying attention to musical techniques and employing them consciously in the composition of poems.

The national epic of Iran, the Shahnameh, is the most monumental and identity-defining work for the people of Iran from ancient times to the present, holding a particularly significant place in the field of mythological studies. What renders the Shahnameh enduring and immortal—more than any other major mythological work—is that traces of myth can be found throughout all of its narratives, including the historical section. This claim is substantiated by the observable presence of mythological elements across various events in the historical accounts of the Shahnameh. The aim of this study is to explore the mythological traces and the marvelous, extraordinary occurrences found in the historical part of the Shahnameh by examining selected stories from this section. The significance of Ferdowsi’s method of engaging with historical events becomes more apparent when we recognize that the sub-narratives concerning the lives and reigns of historical figures in the third part of the Shahnameh are, in some cases, presented as hyperrealities rather than pure historical facts. This study, which employs a descriptive-analytical method based on library data and document analysis, will demonstrate that the Master of Tus, particularly in recounting sub-narratives in the historical section of the Shahnameh, significantly employed mythological approaches in the narration of historical events.