Another Look at Literary Tazkares (A discussion about the typology of literary tazkares and proposing a model for classifying them)

Abstract

Abstract Tazkares (anthologies), besides being one of the most basic research sources in literary sciences and being among original historical cultural sources, have generally artistic values due to their literary content and skill of their authors. Moreover, since they are sequential sources and under the influence of previous works, they also follow explicit and implicit criteria and patterns which sometimes promote them even to the level of a genre. Finding structural criteria and generic patterns of Tazkares is not an easy task because the nature of literary Tazkares is to some extent non-literary and overlaps with history and other human sciences and always wants to return to its main non-literary origins. On the other hand, since poetry and literature have been super-media in the classic world and consequently various groups of people in different periods liked them, an enormous fair of them has come into existence throughout time which has had different color and description for its customers and visitors. This matter creates many problems in the so-called literary decadence period. Due to this, generic criteria of Tazkares either remained unknown or were forgotten after the appearance of non-poets. At this point, the researcher faces contradictions repeatedly because he cannot eliminate such instances, on the one hand, and cannot gain theoretical coherence by considering them, on the other. Thus, the best possible solution is to consider separate validity for each research example and, indeed, consider prototypical and standard examples as the base of research and evaluate weaker examples as indication or extension of the main issue. Â Assuming that constituents of a genre, from the most trivial and secondary to the main ones, can be studied regarding form, content and presentation, literary Tazkares can be explored as following: regarding the form, elements such as order and organization, volume, independence, literary aspect and shape can be investigated regarding the content, macro factors like title of the work and its chapters, preface and examples, subject, tone, originality and accuracy can be studied. Accordingly, there are detailed and brief Tazkares (with regard to volume), independent and implicit Tazkares (regarding independence), simple, elaborated and poetic Tazkares (with regard to literary aspect), and plain and illustrated Tazkares (with regard to shape). If content is considered, Tazkares are classified into general and exclusive (regarding inclusion), parodied and serious (regarding tone), research-critical, Talkhisi, Montahel, Motarjam and Zeili (regarding originality). The criterion of presentation is mostly influential in the process of generic evolution and transformation