Suchergebnisse

With an overview of identity as a dominant theme in Bahram Beyzaie's artistic creations, this article examines two of his, arguably, most political plays: Chahar Sanduq (Four Boxes, 1967) and Khaterat-e Honarpisheh-ye Naqsh-e Dovvom (Memoirs of the Actor in a Supporting Role, 1981) to examine his reflections on the nature, function, and vulnerability of collective social, political, and cultural identity in authoritarian societies. Both plays illustrate that the tyrannical rulers of such societies perpetuate their dominance over their subjects through exploiting the individual's self-interests, thereby isolating him and stripping him of collective and, inevitably, individual identity. Beyzaie's allegorical and rather abstract approach in these plays contributes to conveying a less topical, culture-specific, and more universal message.

This article addresses an important, usually neglected, aspect of the work of Simin Behbahani, namely her prose and fiction, mostly autobiographical writings, which should be indispensable to an understanding of her poetry. While Behbahni views her poetry to be about life in general and says that she utilizes the language of the people to compose her poems, she also finds prose a more appropriate form for writing on certain topics. With an examination of a number of her prose writings, including "An Mard, Mard-e Hamraham" ["That Man, My Companion"], "Ba Qalb-e Khod Cheh Kharidam" ["What I Bought with My Heart"], and "Kelid-o Khanjar" ["Key and Dagger"], the article explores the poet as a storyteller and the link between her poetry and fictional prose, especially in terms of her life story.

Hushang Golsmri's masterfully crafted short story "Fathnamehye moghan" (The Victory Chronicle of the Magi) captures a sobering moment in the transitional period of revolutionary Iran. Golshiri delves beneath the surface of the ongoing revolutionary confusion to reflect on the events and gains insight into an aspect of the culture deeply rooted in the Iranian psyche. Golshiri conveys the sentiments of the collective narrator "We," which represents, if not all Iranians, at least the intellectuals who had been supportive of a revolution in order to acquire freedom but are suddenly faced with a situation in which the freedoms they had been taking for granted have been curtailed. In a manner, perhaps not very different from before, they are trying to learn, or, as Barat sees it, to conform to the new restrictions placed upon their lives. Wine and its prohibition are used as a symbol of restrictions on other liberties.