Analysis of the Reflection of Popular Culture Elements in the Play "Old Rulers and New Rulers" by Moyedolmamalek Fekri Ershad
Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1
PhD student in Persian Language and Literature, Faculty of Literature and Foreign Languages, University of Tabriz
2
Professor of Persian Literature, Faculty of Literature and Foreign Languages, University of Tabriz
3
Associate Professor of Persian Literature, Faculty of Literature and Foreign Languages, University of Tabriz
10.48311/cfl.2026.117935.82840
Abstract
The present study, adopting a descriptive-analytical approach and an interdisciplinary method, has examined the reflection of folklore elements on three levels—material, behavioral, and verbal—in the play "The Old Rulers and the New Rulers" by Mo'ayyed al-Mamalek Fekri Ershad. "The main issue is how folklore elements are reflected in this play and their role in creating meaning and critiquing tyranny and the inefficiencies of the constitutional era." By utilizing folklore elements such as tools, occupations, structures, moral customs, ethnic practices, traditions, proverbs, and colloquial expressions, Mo'ayyed al-Mamalek has created a realistic atmosphere. The research results indicate that Fekri Ershad, by employing the three material, behavioral, and verbal levels of folklore, presents a multi-layered image of the confrontation between domination and resistance in the society of the constitutional era. In this work, folklore is not merely a decorative element but acts as a "symbolic language of resistance" and a tool for deconstructing the dominant discourse, demonstrating that political changes, without the transformation of misguided cultural traditions, are doomed to repeat the cycle of corruption and tyranny.
Keywords
Subjects
