Contemporary Persian Literature

Abstract One of the most important theories in linguistic studies is Halliday's theory of "role-oriented textual coherence." Cohesion is a set of relationships between the components of a text that, through lexical and grammatical elements, connects a part of a sentence to previous words, groups, or sentences. Since the factor of "cohesion" creates a connection and internal connection between words and, consequently, creates music in the text, This research, using a descriptive-analytical method, has examined the theory of coherence in two axes: grammatical and lexical. Then, by enumerating the techniques for creating coherence in Sepid Shamloo's poems, it has analyzed and examined the extent of the effect of these techniques in increasing the inner music of his poetry, based on Halliday's theory. This article also attempts to answer the question: "What effect does the element of coherence have in creating the inner music of Shamlou's poetry?" The findings of this research show that coherence is one of the ways to create the inner music of blank poetry, and Shamlou, through his mastery of the Persian language, familiarity with the morphological and syntactic capacities of this language, and benefiting from the elements of lexical coherence, especially the elements of repetition, deletion, and conjunction, has been able to create a desirable connection between words and concepts in his poetry And use methods of creating coherence as part of the ways to create music in blank poetry.

Abstract Roland Barthes, a French literary theorist and philosopher, argued in his famous essay “The Death of the Author” (1967) that a literary text, when detached from the life and personality of its author, is liberated from interpretive authority and gains the potential to carry multiple layers of meaning. This perspective emphasizes signs and intratextual relationships, positioning the reader as the primary agent in the process of textual interpretation. Within this framework, Barthes introduces the concept of the “Scriptor” instead of the “author”; a scriptor who merely arranges the text without the right to impose or explain personal intentions. The present study aims to analyze the works of Mohammad Reza Kateb from the perspective of the Death of the Author theory and to examine the extent to which postmodernist techniques influence his texts. The central hypothesis posits that the features of Kateb’s works—including the active role of the reader, character autonomy, multidimensional identity, narrative flow, temporal disruption, death-reflection, and uncertainty in causality—represent a prominent instance of the practical application of this theory in Iranian fiction. This research employs an analytical-descriptive methodology, conducted through a comprehensive study of Kateb’s works and the extraction of examples relevant to the Death of the Author theory. The findings indicate that Kateb, with prior awareness of postmodernist principles and the Death of the Author, actively engages the reader in the interpretive process and expands the semantic boundaries of the narrative. The study concludes that Mohammad Reza Kateb is one of the most salient examples of the reflection of the Death of the Author theory in contemporary Iranian fiction.

Abstract Oblomovism was first discussed in nineteenth-century critiques of Ivan Goncharov’s novel Oblomov, describing chronic inactivity, fear of change, and social inertia as indicators of the Russian aristocracy’s crisis and the decline of traditional values. Over time, the concept expanded beyond literary criticism into psychology, sociology, and cultural studies, becoming a framework to examine patterns of passivity and avoidance of agency at both individual and collective levels. This perspective provides a lens for rereading Hooshang Golshiri’s Shazdeh Ehtesab (1969) in light of the lived experience of a declining aristocracy in Iran. The historical parallels between nineteenth-century Russia and Iran in the 1960s–1970s—a period of cultural transition and legitimacy crisis of the aristocracy and intellectuals—suggest that Oblomovism offers an effective analytical framework for the novel. The main research question examines the extent to which the characteristics of Oblomovism—such as temporal stagnation, dependency on the status quo, retreat into sleep and fantasy, and systematic avoidance of action—can be identified in the protagonist Khosrow and the narrative layers, reflecting the logic of a declining aristocratic life. The study employs a qualitative-comparative approach based on close textual reading. Findings indicate that Khosrow’s structural passivity, voluntary paralysis, nostalgic attachment to the past, and disconnection from reality and agency significantly overlap with Oblomovist patterns. However, in the Iranian context, this model is intertwined with historical guilt, the genealogy of violence, and critique of patriarchal power. Thus, Oblomovism is presented not as an imported framework but as an analytical tool that offers fresh insight into narrative structures and character development in Shazdeh Ehtesab.

Abstract One of the topics discussed in social semiotics is lifestyle. Eric Landowski's, a French semiotician, proposes four types of lifestyles: snob, chameleon, dandy, and bear, according to the type of interaction of non- or defeated group people with the dominant or central reference group. He also adds three more styles: the bee, cat, and dog lifestyles. Each of these characters exhibits a specific behavior in relation to the normative reference group, and the dominant reference group deals with them with different strategies of identity acceptance, identity separation, identity rejection, and identity simulation. Ehsan Abdipour, a contemporary writer and director, creates new patterns by challenging Landowski's lifestyle models. The main character of the stories The Resāley-e Mūmūsyāh and Gūrāz displays a range of different life styles and combinations of styles in his interactions with others. The main question of the research is what effect the type of strategy of the reference society in relation to the presence of the other has on the way subjects encounter the other and their choice of intermediate lifestyle. In the aforementioned stories, the protagonist moves from a bear adapted to the universe to a genius human being in order to fulfill his mission in this world. In this movement, other lifestyles and also combined styles are manifested, according to the type of approach of the reference society. This research, using an analytical-descriptive method and based on library research, aims to show the different styles of Landowski's theory in interaction with the universe and the reference society. In fact, the aim of the research is to show the journey of the characters in these two stories in different lifestyles.

Abstract The poem "Ismail" by Reza Baraheni is one of her social poems, written for her friend, Ismail Shahroudi, who can be said to represent all oppressed Iranian youth. The aforementioned poem is an intertextual poem that shows signs of benefiting from different texts. In this article, based on intertextual mechanisms, the authors attempt to examine the types of intertextual relationships in the poem under discussion using an analytical-descriptive method from the perspective of Gerard Genette's intertextuality, and analyze how they are present and how each of them is selected for evidence, considering their characteristics. Based on the results obtained, it was determined that in general, the poet has used three factors: quotation, reference, and allusion to advance the poem in question, but reference is the dominant form of intertextuality in this text. Quranic elements are used to introduce characters who represent Islamic discourse in the aforementioned poem, and it is clear that this requires the use of Quranic themes in describing these characters. In order to advance the conceptual and structural goals of her narrative, Barahani has artistically used Quranic elements such as events, people, words, and themes in a new reading of the Quranic poem "Ismail" in such a way that understanding the intertextuality of the aforementioned poem and the Quran can create a basis for a deeper understanding and perception of this poem and the poet's semantic orientations.