The Function of folk Narratives in Expressing Ideology in the Poetry of Shamlu Based on a Critical Reading of the Poem "Pariya"
Document Type : پژوهشی اصیل
Authors
1
Ph.D. in Persian Language and Literature
2
Assistant Professor of Persian Language and Literature Education, Farhangian University, Tehran, Iran.
10.48311/cfl.2026.117562.82834
Abstract
This study aims to analyze the function of folk narratives in representing ideology and power relations in contemporary Persian poetry, focusing on the poem “Paria” by Ahmad Shamlu. In this study, The theoretical framework of the research is based on Norman Fairclough’s Critical Discourse Analysis.
The narrative of “Paria,” drawing on the structure of folk tales, reconstructs the symbolic opposition between the “fairies” and the “demons,” and through this binary presents a multilayered depiction of the relationship between the individual and power. In this poem, folkloric elements and a simple, story-like tone function not merely as narrative devices, but as mechanisms for representing and critiquing the discourse of domination. In this way, the mythical structure of the tale becomes a platform for exposing oppression, tyranny, and ideological mechanisms.
The findings of the study indicate that by reconstructing the fairy-tale pattern and drawing upon the capacities of collective imagination and cultural memory, Shamlu transforms colloquial language into a critical instrument for calling for collective awareness and a freedom-seeking mode of thought.
The narrative of “Paria,” drawing on the structure of folk tales, reconstructs the symbolic opposition between the “fairies” and the “demons,” and through this binary presents a multilayered depiction of the relationship between the individual and power. In this poem, folkloric elements and a simple, story-like tone function not merely as narrative devices, but as mechanisms for representing and critiquing the discourse of domination. In this way, the mythical structure of the tale becomes a platform for exposing oppression, tyranny, and ideological mechanisms.
The findings of the study indicate that by reconstructing the fairy-tale pattern and drawing upon the capacities of collective imagination and cultural memory, Shamlu transforms colloquial language into a critical instrument for calling for collective awareness and a freedom-seeking mode of thought.
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