Document Type : Original Article
Author
Associate Professor of Institute for Humanities and Cultural Studies
Abstract
Introduction
Sociology of literature is one of the subsidiary branches of cultural sociology that analyses the products and consequences of literature from social views, the formation of this interdisciplinary field traces back to 19th century and some sciences like linguistics, philosophy, history and sociology have great contribution in its expansion. Among the greatest theorists of this rather newly science one call name George Lukach and Lucien Goldmann.
The life of social poetry is as long as man's history and his social life. Indeed, the poets, these sensitive people, due to the fact that they possess more power of imagination and daydreaming could more deeply analyze the social events in compare to the common people; they could employ this particular capability in various aspects. One of them is social aspect that appears in their poems to describe and criticize the social issues. To analyzers and critics, this approach is regarded as poet's social view which is deserved to be studied.
The Method of Research
To collect the needed data and information for the present article, the descriptive method and to analyze the finding of the research the qualitative method have been employed and by benefiting from the Lucien Goldmann's genetic structuralism, the sociological aspects of Shahriar's poem has been studied.
Data and Findings of the Research
As it is said before sociology of literature tries to analyze the product of literature from the social view and the present research is to study the social grounds of Shahriar's poem, on the basis of Lucien Goldmann's genetic structuralism by using the descriptive methods. According to the findings of the research the determinate social aspects of Shahriar's poems have been classified into 12 sections and here one by one have been analyzed.
For all the sections some Shahriar's poems have been presented as evidence. It should be noted that the poems which have been presented are only a small part of a large whole.
Reproofing The Manifestations of Social Unjustness
The social unjustness like poverty as well as being carelessness to the oppressed and deprived children and even granting promotion to the people who are not deserved to be promoted are among the points that Shahriar has attacked them straightforwardly. For example, the stanza of "The Lord of the Winter" is an instance of Shahriar's attack to unjustness in the time of his life.
Therefore, literature and the criticism of literary works are placed among the cultural achievements of the society.
The social poems while is impressed by the social issues, could affects upon them too. In other words, there is an interaction between the social issues and poetry. The impressive social poem by embossing the social problems incites people to solve their problems and to blow the spirit of hope if life in the body of the society and to encourage people to struggle for social and cultural perfection. Almost all the celebrated poets of the world are those who have looked with the sense of responsibility to their circumstances and are committed to man and the society. They have renounced the view of "art for art" though the rate of this sense is different in various poets but most of them believe that fighting against the social problems is their main duty.
Monzavi (1993, 25-71) calls Shahriar the poet of mania and fluency, while Ebtehaj describes him in this way: "Shahriar was a citadel for me". To Monzavi, Shahriar is a romantic poet he has mostly focuses on the romantic aspects of life while Ebetehaj emphasizes upon the visible and invisible corners of Shahriar's world viewing including the social aspects of life. Alavi (1983, 47-95) mentions in his book under the title of "History and Transformation of Iran Modern Literature": "Mohammad Hossein Shahriar is the most talented poet in the years of 1940s, he was a shining star who evinced in that oppressive and despotic circumstance. Shahriar has stood in front of us as a great poet; a man with laudable merits and an exceptional talent for poem chanting who possesses multi aspect talents, who could not show his merits as he deserved due to the social circumstances and to employ his capabilities at the service of his homeland.
In the present article some social samples of his Persian and Turkish poems have been studied, though studying the social themes of his Turkish poems needs an independent research and here only a glance has been cast at these poems.
Conclusion
Mohammad Hossein Behjat Tabrizi known as Shahriar, the contemporary Iranian poet due to his poetical nature was very sensitive towards social issues and humanistic affairs. He possesses some ideas about culture and society which are deserved to be thought. Many of the themes of his poems are reproofing the issues such as poverty, unjustness, ignorance. He invites people to fight against ignorance oppression and despotism. He criticizes the wrong social structures, studies the issues of modern life and warns people of the consequences of poverty which terminates to cultural poverty and destruction of man's dignity. The existence of these themes in his poem has made him a committed poet towards social affairs.
According to the findings of the present research, the Shahriar's poem is teemed of reproofing the manifestations of social unjustness, criticizing the political conditions of his homeland and giving ethical advices to his society, he also encouraging people to step into the constructive affairs and to struggle against viciousness. He commemorates the cultural elites and social relations; he focuses on the problems that women are faced in a conventional society. He is a moderate patriotic and the lover of the old simple style of life and nostalgic for this life, he criticizes the western culture and appreciates his native culture, he emphasizes on joining the world society and at the same time adheres the Iranian Islamic Civilization.
His poems are fraught with the colloquial words to establish a deeper relation with the common people.
Studying the social and cultural issues that Shahriar has entered into his own people shows that he is a folk poet not only he is not drawn in an illusionary life but also he is living in the depth of the reality of society, and is familiar with the masse's suffering and has touched their pains and is not indifferent to social issues.
His social poem shows his concentration upon the various aspects of Iranian social life in such a way that his poems are the taintless mirror of his society and he is an honest narrator of the challenges that the Iranian society are faced.
Shahriar as an intelligent member of his society mirrors the reality of society and shows the problems of people and his social themes are mainstream of his works. The poet invites the attention of his addressees to the pains and problems of the society and wakes them of their negligence. It is true that Shahriar as he deserves is not supported by the social and literary institutions, but his literary commitment and the social themes of his poems in the field of social and humanistic issues are determinant factors that turned the look of people to various social stands.
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