دانشگاه اصفهان فنون ادبی 20088027 18 2 2026 06 22 Similarities between Sohrab Sepehri and T. S. Eliot based on speech Similarities Between Sohrab Sepehri and T. S. Eliot Based on Speech 1 10 29995 10.22108/liar.2025.146540.2509 FA Khodayar Mokhtari Assistant Professor, Department of Persian Language and Literature Education, Farhangian University, Tehran, Iran Amirhossein Janatian Assistant Professor, Department of Education, Farhangian University, Isfahan, Iran Fatemeh Sadeghi MA Graduate, Department of Education, Farhangian University, Isfahan, Iran Journal Article 2025 09 03 Comparative literature, or contrastive literature, is a branch of literary criticism that discusses the literary relationships among nations and different languages and the interaction between the literatures of various peoples. The term "comparative literature" was first used by Wilmann, a French critic and professor at the Sorbonne University. Then, another French critic, Saint-Beuve, promoted it. The works of the contemporary Iranian poet Sohrab Sepehri and T. S. Eliot, an American-British poet and literary critic, can be analyzed in the field of comparative literature. Despite climatic and linguistic differences, these two poets share commonalities in topics such as inclination toward the hidden layers of speech (metaphor), naturalism, dramatic monologue, and poetic language, and differ in other topics. Two examples of differences include the dispersion of adherence to meter and rhyme and the contrast and tension in poetic structure. The authors of the present study aim to analyze the similarities and contrasts of the thoughts of these two poets using a descriptive-analytical method, considering Sohrab Sepehri's familiarity with mysticism and Western literature and his particular attention to T. S. Eliot, which has led to the creation of similar images and motifs. Comparative literature, or contrastive literature, is a branch of literary criticism that discusses the literary relationships among nations and different languages and the interaction between the literatures of various peoples. The term "comparative literature" was first used by Wilmann, a French critic and professor at the Sorbonne University. Then, another French critic, Saint-Beuve, promoted it. The works of the contemporary Iranian poet Sohrab Sepehri and T. S. Eliot, an American-British poet and literary critic, can be analyzed in the field of comparative literature. Despite climatic and linguistic differences, these two poets share commonalities in topics such as inclination toward the hidden layers of speech (metaphor), naturalism, dramatic monologue, and poetic language, and differ in other topics. Two examples of differences include the dispersion of adherence to meter and rhyme and the contrast and tension in poetic structure. The authors of the present study aim to analyze the similarities and contrasts of the thoughts of these two poets using a descriptive-analytical method, considering Sohrab Sepehri's familiarity with mysticism and Western literature and his particular attention to T. S. Eliot, which has led to the creation of similar images and motifs.

https://liar.ui.ac.ir/article_29995_a33a529964c72facffaf62dfbc26ceee.pdf

دانشگاه اصفهان فنون ادبی 20088027 18 2 2026 06 22 The Lacanian Manifestation of the Real in Silence, Absence, and the Collapse of Meaning in the Story “Bartleby, the Scrivener” by Herman Melville The Lacanian Manifestation of the Real in Silence, Absence, and the Collapse of Meaning in the Story Bartleby, the Scrivener by Herman Melville 11 18 30766 10.22108/liar.2026.149328.2604 FA Mohammadamin Ehsani Estahbanati Assistant Professor, Department of Persian Language and Literature Education, Farhangian University, Tehran, Iran Journal Article 2026 06 14 The present study offers a Lacanian psychoanalytic reading of Herman Melville’s Bartleby, the Scrivener by focusing on the relationship between silence, refusal, and the crisis of meaning. Unlike previous Lacanian interpretations that have mainly examined Bartleby as a figure of alienation, resistance, or the failure of language, this study specifically investigates how the interaction between the three Lacanian registers—the Imaginary, the Symbolic, and the Real—constructs the gradual collapse of the subject’s relation to language and social meaning. Using a descriptive-analytical method, the research applies Lacan’s concepts of the Symbolic order, the divided subject, lack, and the Real to analyze Bartleby’s repetitive phrase “I would prefer not to”, his withdrawal from communication, and his progressive detachment from the social system of the lawyer’s office. The findings demonstrate that the Imaginary operates through the narrator’s unsuccessful attempts to create a stable image and understanding of Bartleby, while the Symbolic is represented by the legal and administrative order of Wall Street that seeks to regulate subjects through language, law, and occupational roles. However, Bartleby’s refusal disrupts this structure and reveals the emergence of the Real as the central dimension of the narrative. His silence and repetition do not simply represent personal rejection but expose the inability of language to fully contain subjective experience. The study further shows that the movement from loss to isolation and finally death represents a gradual dissolution of the subject’s connection with the Symbolic order. Therefore, Bartleby, the Scrivener can be understood not merely as a story of individual withdrawal, but as a narrative that reveals the fundamental limits of language, meaning production, and subject formation in modern experience. The present study offers a Lacanian psychoanalytic reading of Herman Melville’s Bartleby, the Scrivener by focusing on the relationship between silence, refusal, and the crisis of meaning. Unlike previous Lacanian interpretations that have mainly examined Bartleby as a figure of alienation, resistance, or the failure of language, this study specifically investigates how the interaction between the three Lacanian registers—the Imaginary, the Symbolic, and the Real—constructs the gradual collapse of the subject’s relation to language and social meaning. Using a descriptive-analytical method, the research applies Lacan’s concepts of the Symbolic order, the divided subject, lack, and the Real to analyze Bartleby’s repetitive phrase “I would prefer not to”, his withdrawal from communication, and his progressive detachment from the social system of the lawyer’s office. The findings demonstrate that the Imaginary operates through the narrator’s unsuccessful attempts to create a stable image and understanding of Bartleby, while the Symbolic is represented by the legal and administrative order of Wall Street that seeks to regulate subjects through language, law, and occupational roles. However, Bartleby’s refusal disrupts this structure and reveals the emergence of the Real as the central dimension of the narrative. His silence and repetition do not simply represent personal rejection but expose the inability of language to fully contain subjective experience. The study further shows that the movement from loss to isolation and finally death represents a gradual dissolution of the subject’s connection with the Symbolic order. Therefore, Bartleby, the Scrivener can be understood not merely as a story of individual withdrawal, but as a narrative that reveals the fundamental limits of language, meaning production, and subject formation in modern experience.

https://liar.ui.ac.ir/article_30766_780865854cd1a4a7f3251723dca842f8.pdf

دانشگاه اصفهان فنون ادبی 20088027 18 2 2026 06 22 A Semiotic Analysis of Character in the Novel Her Eyes Based on the Theory of Philippe Hamon (From the Code of the Gaze to the Gradual Process of Character Construction) A Semiotic Analysis of Character in the Novel Her Eyes Based on the Theory of Philippe Hamon (From the Code of the Gaze to the Gradual Process of Character Construction) 19 28 30771 10.22108/liar.2026.149490.2609 FA Narjes Banou Sabouri Associate Professor, Department of Linguistics, Payame Noor University, Tehran, Iran Asieh Zabihnia Emran Professor, Department of Persian Language and Literature, Payame Noor University, Tehran, Iran Journal Article 2026 07 04 The novel Her Eyes by Bozorg Alavi is one of the works that raises the issue of character not only at the level of the presence of fictional characters, but also in how they are recognized, reconstructed, and interpreted. The central characters of the novel are not presented to the reader as unified data; rather, they are constructed through name, image, speech, silence, action, memory, judgment of others, and the measured distribution of information throughout the narrative. From this perspective, Philip Hamon's theory (1972), which considers character as a textual sign and an unstable signifier, provides a suitable tool for analyzing the mechanism of character development in this novel. The present study, using a descriptive-analytical method and relying on close reading of the text, examines the characters of the novel along the four main axes of Hamon's theory, namely types of character, character as signifier, character as signified, and levels of character description. The findings of the study show that Her Eyes is based on the suspension between seeing and knowing. The findings also indicate that in this novel, character is not a present and transparent truth, but rather the result of an interpretative, relational, and historical process. Finally, the application of Hamon's theory to the novel "Her Eyes" reveals that the novel's network of characters simultaneously organizes the romantic, artistic, and political structure of the work and transforms the reader from a passive consumer of the story into a participant in the production of meaning. The novel Her Eyes by Bozorg Alavi is one of the works that raises the issue of character not only at the level of the presence of fictional characters, but also in how they are recognized, reconstructed, and interpreted. The central characters of the novel are not presented to the reader as unified data; rather, they are constructed through name, image, speech, silence, action, memory, judgment of others, and the measured distribution of information throughout the narrative. From this perspective, Philip Hamon's theory (1972), which considers character as a textual sign and an unstable signifier, provides a suitable tool for analyzing the mechanism of character development in this novel. The present study, using a descriptive-analytical method and relying on close reading of the text, examines the characters of the novel along the four main axes of Hamon's theory, namely types of character, character as signifier, character as signified, and levels of character description. The findings of the study show that Her Eyes is based on the suspension between seeing and knowing. The findings also indicate that in this novel, character is not a present and transparent truth, but rather the result of an interpretative, relational, and historical process. Finally, the application of Hamon's theory to the novel "Her Eyes" reveals that the novel's network of characters simultaneously organizes the romantic, artistic, and political structure of the work and transforms the reader from a passive consumer of the story into a participant in the production of meaning.

https://liar.ui.ac.ir/article_30771_3648b4d7ceb4e3e26e2df1b1833493b5.pdf

دانشگاه اصفهان فنون ادبی 20088027 18 2 2026 06 22 Representing Power and Dominance through Linguistic Strategies in Ferdowsi's Shahnameh: A Critical Discourse Analysis Representing Power and Dominance through Linguistic Strategies in Ferdowsi's Shahnameh: A Critical Discourse Analysis 29 40 30770 10.22108/liar.2026.149585.2615 FA Zahra Amini Shalamzarri PhD. Graduate in Persian Language and Literature, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran Journal Article 2026 07 02 Power in Ferdowsi's Shahnameh is predominantly represented through heroism, martial prowess, and military victory. Nevertheless, many narrative episodes demonstrate that power relations are not constructed solely through physical confrontation; rather, language plays a decisive role in establishing, maintaining, and transforming these relations. Despite extensive scholarship on power and heroism in the Shahnameh, relatively little attention has been devoted to the linguistic strategies employed where discourse functions as a substitute for or complement to military action from the perspective of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA). Drawing upon Norman Fairclough's three-dimensional model, this study investigates how linguistic strategies contribute to the representation and negotiation of power in the Shahnameh. Using a descriptive-analytical approach, it examines a purposively selected corpus of dialogues in which language assumes a central role in power relations, including episodes of captivity, negotiation encounters in enemy territory, battlefield postponement, and court debates. The findings reveal that the declarative mood is the most frequent grammatical resource for persuasion and managing power relations. Characters predominantly rely on argumentation, analogy, appeals to tradition and shared cultural beliefs, euphemism, and strategic humility to establish credibility, reduce conflict, conceal identity, persuade their interlocutors, and reshape power relations. The use of these strategies varies according to the communicative context, participants' discursive positions, and interactional objectives, and often proves more effective than direct military confrontation. Analysis across Fairclough's three dimensions—text, discursive practice, and social practice—demonstrates that power in the Shahnameh is reproduced through the interaction of language, ideology, and socially legitimized discourses, with linguistic competence emerging as a significant source of power alongside physical strength. Power in Ferdowsi's Shahnameh is predominantly represented through heroism, martial prowess, and military victory. Nevertheless, many narrative episodes demonstrate that power relations are not constructed solely through physical confrontation; rather, language plays a decisive role in establishing, maintaining, and transforming these relations. Despite extensive scholarship on power and heroism in the Shahnameh, relatively little attention has been devoted to the linguistic strategies employed where discourse functions as a substitute for or complement to military action from the perspective of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA). Drawing upon Norman Fairclough's three-dimensional model, this study investigates how linguistic strategies contribute to the representation and negotiation of power in the Shahnameh. Using a descriptive-analytical approach, it examines a purposively selected corpus of dialogues in which language assumes a central role in power relations, including episodes of captivity, negotiation encounters in enemy territory, battlefield postponement, and court debates. The findings reveal that the declarative mood is the most frequent grammatical resource for persuasion and managing power relations. Characters predominantly rely on argumentation, analogy, appeals to tradition and shared cultural beliefs, euphemism, and strategic humility to establish credibility, reduce conflict, conceal identity, persuade their interlocutors, and reshape power relations. The use of these strategies varies according to the communicative context, participants' discursive positions, and interactional objectives, and often proves more effective than direct military confrontation. Analysis across Fairclough's three dimensions—text, discursive practice, and social practice—demonstrates that power in the Shahnameh is reproduced through the interaction of language, ideology, and socially legitimized discourses, with linguistic competence emerging as a significant source of power alongside physical strength.

https://liar.ui.ac.ir/article_30770_e05d8771aded64382f620828337b3961.pdf