Influence of the Lermontov tradition on the modern Iranian poet Shafiei Kadkani

Abstract

Man and nature are two inseparable elements of the world, and the unbreakable connection and coexistence between them is the origin of all kinds of literary works. From ancient times to the present day, we often see poems about nature both in Russian and Persian literature. Using the Natural objects and phenomena in the form of myths and symbols in literary works and giving them personality have various reasons, including political ones. Sometimes poems may be composed under the influence of a poet from another country. This influence can be seen in contemporary Iranian literature. Among the contemporary Iranian poets who are very familiar with the ideas and works of Russian poets and writers is the Iranian naturalist (пейзажист) poet Shafiei Kadkani. He composed his poem “Happy Journeys!”) based on Lermontov’s “The Rock” and “The black Clouds” poems. Both poets have used natural images such as plant (растение), breeze (ветерок), blossoms (цветения), rain (дождь), desert (пустыня), dust (пыль), horror desert (пустыня ужаса), rock / cliff (утес) and black clouds (тучи), which have a symbolic role. By comparing the poems, we can see that they are similar in terms of content and have the same message. And some of the symbols of Shafiei Kadkani are the same as the symbols of Lermontov, such as the desert, or they are chosen in terms of meaning very close to the symbols of Lermontov, such as “rock / cliff and milkvetch” or “small clouds and breeze”, as well as the dynamic movement of small clouds and breeze, which are the symbol of transition and change. Like Lermontov, Shafiei Kadkani also complains about the situation of his society, but symbols like “blossoms and rain” at the end of Shafiei Kadkani’s poem, unlike Lermontov’s poems, promise the morning of freedom, prosperity and transition, but with doubts.