Criticism and sociological analysis of the poem

Rasoulian, Kamal; Koushesh Shabestari, Rahim; Modarresi, Fatemeh

doi:10.30465/copl.2026.51893.4282

Criticism and sociological analysis of the poem "Winter" by Mehdi Akhavan-Sales

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

kamal rasoulian ¹

Rahim Koushesh shabestari ²

Fatemeh Modarresi ²

¹ Persian Language and Literature, Faculty of Literature and Human Sciences, Urmia University, Urmia, Iran.

² Department of Persian Language and Literature, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, Urmia University, Urmia, Iran

10.30465/copl.2026.51893.4282

Abstract

The present study, with a sociological critical approach, analyzes Mehdi Akhavan-Sales's poem "Winter" as a literary document of the socio-political crises in Iran in the 1951 and 1961. The main issue of the article is the dominance of formal and structural readings in previous studies and the lack of attention to the causal links between the text and its historical-social context. Therefore, the following essay attempts to show, through a layered analysis, how "Winter" depicts the fragility of human relations, the collapse of collective trust, and the mechanisms of isolation in an atmosphere of tyranny, and at the same time has the capacity to become a call for hidden solidarity. The theoretical framework of the research is based on Hippolyte Tain's triad: race, milieu, and historical moment, which is integrated with contemporary sociological theories to enrich the explanation, including: Durkheim's anomie and crisis of social cohesion in explaining abnormality and broken bonds; Foucault's panopticon surveillance and internalization of power in analyzing self-censorship and pervasive fear; Bourdieu's social capital in explaining the decline of support networks and trust; Merton's adaptation, especially withdrawal, in explaining social withdrawal; Scott's everyday resistance in understanding small actions as a problem of cultural resistance, and Ulrich Beck's idea of social risk in interpreting the limited horizon of the future. The research method is qualitative and analytical-interpretive, and the data were collected from the text of the poem and historical and research sources. The results show that, with the help of the metaphor of "winter" and using symbolic images and a specific poetic language, the Akhavan-Sales creatively depicted the challenges and the deplorable social and cultural situation of Iranian society in the 1951 and 1961, and at the same time, while expressing the post-coup suffocation, it considered the possibility of rebuilding social bonds through everyday resistance.

Keywords

Mehdi Akhavan-Sales

Winter

Sociological Criticism

Contemporary Theories

Hippolyte Tain

George Ritzer

Subjects

Analysis, criticism, explanation and interpretation of contemporary Persian literature in Iran and the world

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