Volume 9, Issue 37 (2021)
CFL 2021, 9(37): 195-228 |
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Azimi M, Zolfaghari H, Dorri N, Gholamhosseinzade G. Typology of Titles of Persian Quatrain. CFL 2021; 9 (37) :195-228
URL: http://cfl.modares.ac.ir/article-11-46285-en.html
URL: http://cfl.modares.ac.ir/article-11-46285-en.html
1- Tarbiat modares university
2- Tarbiat modares university , zolfagari@modares.ac.ir
3- Tarbiat modares university
2- Tarbiat modares university , zolfagari@modares.ac.ir
3- Tarbiat modares university
Abstract: (2470 Views)
Quatrain is one of the most popular forms of Persian folk poetry. In the early literary works and in different regions in Iran, various names are used to refer to Quatrain: Fahlavi, Tarāne, Hājiyāni, Qaribi, Faryād, Šarve and so forth. The question is if these different names correspond to different genres with distinct characteristics, or they are merely different names that all belong to one autonomous genre, based on the generic and literary criteria. To answer this question, the structure and content of approximately five thousand three hundred Persian Quatrains were studied, including Čārbeiti, Seytak, Šarve, Ferāqi, Faryād, Falaki, Kallegi, Hazāragy, Hoseinā, Najmā, and Šarbe. The results show that, based on the generic and literary criteria, all of the above-mentioned have the same structural and content features and should be classified under the Quatrain genre.
Introduction
In different regions of Iran and in the neighboring Persian speaking countries, various names are used to refer to Quatrain. For example, ‘Čārbeiti’, ‘Ferāqi’, and ‘Faryād’ are used in Khorasan, ‘Kallegi’ in Sarkavir, ‘Seytak’ in Sistan, ‘Šarve’ in Bushehr, ‘Hazāragy’ in Afghanistan, ‘Falaki’ in Tajikistan, ‘Šarbe’ in Arak, and ‘Šarme’ in Fars. Moreover, in the early Persian literary works, Quatrain is referred to as ‘Fahlavi’, ‘Tarāne’, ‘Beit’, and ‘Robāi’. Even some musical terms such as ‘Jamšidi’, ‘Sarhaddi’, ‘Kuče Bāqi’, ‘Hājiyāni’, and ‘Dašti’ have been used to address Quatrain.
Most of the above-mentioned names have been so popular over such a long period of time that they have persuaded some researchers to consider each of them as an autonomous genre. However, studying these terms, using scientific methods and literary classification criteria might revise this common opinion, as there are great similarities between these different names.
This study aims to investigate if these different names correspond to different genres with distinct characteristics, or they are merely different names that all belong to one autonomous genre. To this aim, the structure and content of approximately one thousand five hundred Persian Quatrain is studied.
The structural and content features of Persian quatrain in different regions have been extensively investigated in previous studies by other researchers like Nasiri Jami (2001), Naseh (2014), Bahrampur (2015), and Zolfaghari (2015b). However, different names used in different regions of Iran to refer to Quatrain have not been studied and analyzed thus far.
Discussion
In comparison to many other types of poetry in the early Persian literary works, a very limited number of Quatrains were recorded, where they are referred to as ‘Fahlavi’, ‘Tarāne’, ‘Beit’, and ‘Robāi’. In the following section, the reasons that these names are allocated to these Quatrains are explained.
Dobeiti (in Persian): This name refers to the number of verses in a Quatrain, which means two verses. Quatrain is a short poetic form that expresses an autonomous content only within two verses, along with rhymes in the first, second and fourth hemistich. Most of the Quatrains have emotional content expressed by an intimate, simple, and casual language in the prosodic meter bahr-e hazaj, and they have been widely used as lyrics for many songs.
Robāi: This name refers to the number of the verses as well. Robai is very similar to Dobeiti, in terms of having two verses and, most importantly, the same rhyme scheme. Consequently, sometimes by mistake, Robai has been used to refer to Dobeiti. However, Dobeiti and Robai are totally different in terms of meter, content, language, and applications.
Fahlavi: Dobeiti and Fahlavi are considered the same mainly because of their historical background in the pre-Islamic period. Indeed, Fahlaviat refers to the poems which are composed in different dialects of the Pahlavi language. These poems have been used as lyrics for songs, mostly in the form of Quatrain. Considering that Fahlaviat have been popular before Dobeiti and the fact that the only difference between these two Quatrains is in the syllabic meter, the current hypotheses put forward by this study is that Dobeiti is an extension of Fahlavi (Bahar, 1976, p. 41).
Tarāne: The melodized Dobeiti is called Tarāne (Shams Gheis, 2009, p. 142). In other words, whenever Dobeiti is presented along with musical instruments, it is called Tarāne. In the past, Robai and Dobeiti were often taken as synonymous with Tarāne by mistake.
Beit: In the Persian literature, two hemistiches together form a Beit (verse). Beit also stands for all forms of Persian poem. Singing ‘Beit’ means singing Persian poem, and that is why sometime ‘Beit’ is used to refer to Dobeiti.
Other terms like ‘Jamšidi’, ‘Sarhaddi’, ‘Kuče Bāqi’, ‘Hājiyāni’, ‘Bidagāni’, ‘Gharibi’, and ‘Dašti’ have been used to refer to Quatrain all of which have the characteristics of Quatrain studied in this article. In fact, these terms are musical expressions mainly used to refer to different musical Magham. Therefore, due to the correlation between Quatrain and music, the corresponding musical Magham has sometimes been used to refer to Quatrain.
Conclusion
In this paper, the structural and content features of the investigated samples are taken into account, and a comparative analysis is drawn between them. The results showed that Quatrain has been referred to by many different names due to its popularity in different eras and regions. For example, in early Persian literary works, Quatrain has been named as ‘Fahlavi’, ‘Tarāne’, ‘Beit’, and ‘Robāi’, while in oral literature, it has mostly been known as Čārbeiti, Seytak, Šarve, Ferāqi, Faryād, Falaki, Kallegi, Hazāragy, Hoseinā, Najmā, Šarbe, and Šarme. Indeed, all the above-mentioned terms are different names for referencing to a unique genre, which is Quatrain.
References
Bahar, M. T. (1976). Bahar and Persian literature (vol. 1). Ketabhaye Jibi.
Bahrampur, Gh. (2015). Charbeiti: the continuation of the tradition of oral poetry in Iran. Culture and Folk Literature, 6, 75-112.
Naseh, M. M. (2014). A review of the Quatrains from Birjand. Fekre Bekr.
Nasiri Jami, H. (2001). A structural and content analysis of the oriental songs. Mohaghegh.
Shams Gheis, M. (2009). Almo’jam fi Ma’ayir Ash’ar Ajam (edited by Mohammad Ghazvini, Mohammad Taghi Modarres Razavi and Sirus Shamisa). Rowzane.
Introduction
In different regions of Iran and in the neighboring Persian speaking countries, various names are used to refer to Quatrain. For example, ‘Čārbeiti’, ‘Ferāqi’, and ‘Faryād’ are used in Khorasan, ‘Kallegi’ in Sarkavir, ‘Seytak’ in Sistan, ‘Šarve’ in Bushehr, ‘Hazāragy’ in Afghanistan, ‘Falaki’ in Tajikistan, ‘Šarbe’ in Arak, and ‘Šarme’ in Fars. Moreover, in the early Persian literary works, Quatrain is referred to as ‘Fahlavi’, ‘Tarāne’, ‘Beit’, and ‘Robāi’. Even some musical terms such as ‘Jamšidi’, ‘Sarhaddi’, ‘Kuče Bāqi’, ‘Hājiyāni’, and ‘Dašti’ have been used to address Quatrain.
Most of the above-mentioned names have been so popular over such a long period of time that they have persuaded some researchers to consider each of them as an autonomous genre. However, studying these terms, using scientific methods and literary classification criteria might revise this common opinion, as there are great similarities between these different names.
This study aims to investigate if these different names correspond to different genres with distinct characteristics, or they are merely different names that all belong to one autonomous genre. To this aim, the structure and content of approximately one thousand five hundred Persian Quatrain is studied.
The structural and content features of Persian quatrain in different regions have been extensively investigated in previous studies by other researchers like Nasiri Jami (2001), Naseh (2014), Bahrampur (2015), and Zolfaghari (2015b). However, different names used in different regions of Iran to refer to Quatrain have not been studied and analyzed thus far.
Discussion
In comparison to many other types of poetry in the early Persian literary works, a very limited number of Quatrains were recorded, where they are referred to as ‘Fahlavi’, ‘Tarāne’, ‘Beit’, and ‘Robāi’. In the following section, the reasons that these names are allocated to these Quatrains are explained.
Dobeiti (in Persian): This name refers to the number of verses in a Quatrain, which means two verses. Quatrain is a short poetic form that expresses an autonomous content only within two verses, along with rhymes in the first, second and fourth hemistich. Most of the Quatrains have emotional content expressed by an intimate, simple, and casual language in the prosodic meter bahr-e hazaj, and they have been widely used as lyrics for many songs.
Robāi: This name refers to the number of the verses as well. Robai is very similar to Dobeiti, in terms of having two verses and, most importantly, the same rhyme scheme. Consequently, sometimes by mistake, Robai has been used to refer to Dobeiti. However, Dobeiti and Robai are totally different in terms of meter, content, language, and applications.
Fahlavi: Dobeiti and Fahlavi are considered the same mainly because of their historical background in the pre-Islamic period. Indeed, Fahlaviat refers to the poems which are composed in different dialects of the Pahlavi language. These poems have been used as lyrics for songs, mostly in the form of Quatrain. Considering that Fahlaviat have been popular before Dobeiti and the fact that the only difference between these two Quatrains is in the syllabic meter, the current hypotheses put forward by this study is that Dobeiti is an extension of Fahlavi (Bahar, 1976, p. 41).
Tarāne: The melodized Dobeiti is called Tarāne (Shams Gheis, 2009, p. 142). In other words, whenever Dobeiti is presented along with musical instruments, it is called Tarāne. In the past, Robai and Dobeiti were often taken as synonymous with Tarāne by mistake.
Beit: In the Persian literature, two hemistiches together form a Beit (verse). Beit also stands for all forms of Persian poem. Singing ‘Beit’ means singing Persian poem, and that is why sometime ‘Beit’ is used to refer to Dobeiti.
Other terms like ‘Jamšidi’, ‘Sarhaddi’, ‘Kuče Bāqi’, ‘Hājiyāni’, ‘Bidagāni’, ‘Gharibi’, and ‘Dašti’ have been used to refer to Quatrain all of which have the characteristics of Quatrain studied in this article. In fact, these terms are musical expressions mainly used to refer to different musical Magham. Therefore, due to the correlation between Quatrain and music, the corresponding musical Magham has sometimes been used to refer to Quatrain.
Conclusion
In this paper, the structural and content features of the investigated samples are taken into account, and a comparative analysis is drawn between them. The results showed that Quatrain has been referred to by many different names due to its popularity in different eras and regions. For example, in early Persian literary works, Quatrain has been named as ‘Fahlavi’, ‘Tarāne’, ‘Beit’, and ‘Robāi’, while in oral literature, it has mostly been known as Čārbeiti, Seytak, Šarve, Ferāqi, Faryād, Falaki, Kallegi, Hazāragy, Hoseinā, Najmā, Šarbe, and Šarme. Indeed, all the above-mentioned terms are different names for referencing to a unique genre, which is Quatrain.
References
Bahar, M. T. (1976). Bahar and Persian literature (vol. 1). Ketabhaye Jibi.
Bahrampur, Gh. (2015). Charbeiti: the continuation of the tradition of oral poetry in Iran. Culture and Folk Literature, 6, 75-112.
Naseh, M. M. (2014). A review of the Quatrains from Birjand. Fekre Bekr.
Nasiri Jami, H. (2001). A structural and content analysis of the oriental songs. Mohaghegh.
Shams Gheis, M. (2009). Almo’jam fi Ma’ayir Ash’ar Ajam (edited by Mohammad Ghazvini, Mohammad Taghi Modarres Razavi and Sirus Shamisa). Rowzane.
Zolfaghari, H. (2015b). Application and features poetic couplet in a variety of popular literature. Adab Pazhuhi, 32, 63-95.
Article Type: پژوهشی اصیل |
Subject:
Popular poetry
Received: 2020/09/23 | Accepted: 2020/12/27 | Published: 2021/02/28
Received: 2020/09/23 | Accepted: 2020/12/27 | Published: 2021/02/28
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