Iranian Winds in Persian Poetry

Abstract

It is intelligible that modern experiences differ from pre-modern experiences due to the mutual changes taken place in objectivity and subjectivity. Not only objects are exposed to the changes, but also subjects are transformed into other identities. Thus, human perception can be variable over time. Like the wind, consequently, the meaning of wind is not permanent. The chronotope of wind contributes time to space in poems. I consider wind as a social construction representing time constructed by space. Literature reflects the images of wind in detail. In my thesis, I describe the essential differences between two constructive and destructive perceptions of wind embedded in different poetry genres. The pre-modern perception contains constructive winds expressed in the classic poetry genre corresponding with the mechanical social solidarity, while the modern perception includes destructive winds manifested in the modern poetry genre corresponding with the organic social solidarity. I pick up five prominent poems including Firdawsī, Khayyám, Rūmī, Saʻdī’, and Ḥāfeẓ from the classic Persian poetry and five prominent poets including Nimā, Shamlou, Akhavān-Sāles, Farrokhzād, and Sepehri from the modern Persian poetry in order to show a significant transformation from the constructive meaning in the pre-modern age to the destructive meaning in the modern age.