Literary Arts (Jun 2016)
Reflection of Historical Context in Elegies of Holy Defense (1980-1985)
Abstract
Abstract Poetry of Holy Defense is a stream of contemporary literature and a branch of Islamic Revolution poetry which began with the war between Iran and Iraq, with an interactive relationship between the war and literature. This stream did not come to end by the end of the war and has continued several decades after. So this poetry has had brilliant evolutions which its themes might be traced in historical contexts and its different aspects. By context, we mean a set of components which despite being outward of the text, interact with it; some of the main are: Medias, international relationship, humans, ideologies, political power, economy, historical events and geographical environment. Studying literary texts according to the context, is the method introduced by Genetic Structuralism and Lucian Goldman. The history of war between Iran and Iraq, historically and literarily may be divided in two eras: First 1980-1985 and second: 1986-1988. Elegy is one of the main types of lyrical literature found in Holy Defense Poetry which in the first era of war became a significant stream of poetry effected by martyrdom as a historical-social context. Elegy means weeping for a dead, reminding his/her good traits and also poet-writing about to regret for his/her death. A main inseparable part of military operations is death of commanders and soldiers which is named ‘martyrdom’ in Iranian society. Elegy is the reflection of this issue in literature. Some of historical contexts in first years of the war are: ‘1980: the beginning of Iraq attack to Iran and seizing some areas such as Khorramshahr, Howaiza, Bostan, Soossangerd, Abadan, etc.’, ‘releasing occupied areas such as Abadan, Bostan and its environs and seizing canyon of Chazzaba by Iraq’, ‘1982: Fath-ol-Mobin and Beyt-ol-Moqaddas operations and releasing Khorramshahr and Howaiza, Iranians’ decision-making to continue the war by the strategy of attack to Iraq, being defeated in Ramadan operation’, ‘1982: Having the Preface Valfajr operation, 1st, 2nd and 3rd and not reaching to all goals of Valfajr and Kheybar operations, vast using of chemical arms by Iraq’, ‘1985: Having too many victims in Kheybar operation, army boycott of Iran, more severity of war in towns, economic blockade and adding Iran name in the list of international terrorist countries’. The main historical-social context of the period is human victims especially among youth which causes great changes in family lives and social, political, economic and cultural conditions. The approach of the poetry to the point comes to a sub-stream of elegy-writing in Holy Defense which is shown in immense viewpoint (martyr in general) and the minor (martyrdom of friends or relatives). Increasing military acts of Iran in 1981 and 1982, elegy culminated in quantity and quality, and three layers of ideational, musical and rhetorical levels of, manifested the historical-social context. Its main ideational axis is ‘martyrdom of especial people’; then it is ‘martyr in general’ and ‘horrible events (such as seizing Khorramshahr and Howaiza)’. Two levels of music and rhetoric are also coordinated with these ideas. Therefore elegy-writing has simile with wide angle and a language near to the standard. Weakness of internal and semantic music, not having too verbalization, having declarative verbs and certainty in narration has caused that the transformation of the ideas to reader takes place directly, and meaning-creation and rhetorical figures decreases. Elegy-writing in the period is dividable into two branches of traditional and modern; however the traditional is dominant. Sonnets and free verses are the most popular forms and the most attending one is Simin-Dokht Vahidi (b. 1933). So Elegy-writing in Holy Defense comes from an interaction between the context and the text; and the emotional aspect of the Holy Defense poetry which raised in the first years, reinforced during the war and did not end by the end of Holy Defense.
