The Cohesive Tie in the Structure of the Persian Ghazal: A Case Study of the Ghazals of Khaqani Shirvani

Abstract

Contemporary Persian poetry, within the context of the social and political transformations of the twentieth century, evolved into a medium for expressing critical ideas and intellectual ideals. Among contemporary Iranian poets, Ahmad Shamlu is regarded as one of the most prominent figures whose poetry represents a synthesis of love, protest, freedom-seeking, and social criticism through an innovative language and a profound perspective on human and social issues. Despite the significance of Shamlu’s poetry, a comprehensive examination of his works from the perspective of critical discourse analysis has received limited scholarly attention. The present study was conducted with the aim of examining and analyzing the poetry of Ahmad Shamlu based on Norman Fairclough’s approach to critical discourse analysis. The research method is descriptive-analytical, and the data were collected through library and documentary methods. Using Fairclough’s three-dimensional model, including description, interpretation, and explanation, the collection of Shamlu’s published poems was analyzed. The findings indicated that socio-political discourses in Shamlu’s poetry are manifested through an emphasis on the concepts of struggle, freedom, and justice-seeking. Furthermore, romantic and gender discourses have been formed through a modernist approach in opposition to prevailing traditions, and women are represented as independent and powerful beings. In addition, the political and social transformations of Iran, from the 1953 coup d’état to the 1979 Revolution, had a direct influence on the formation and transformation of his poetic discourses. Consequently, Shamlu’s poetry constitutes a rich platform for discourse analysis in which semantic, ideological, and social layers can be identified and examined.