The Transformation of Thematic Horizons and the Formation of the “Ghazal-Epic” in Sacred Defense Poetry (1980–1988)

Abstract

Within the tradition of Persian literature, the ghazal has consistently served as a principal poetic form for individual lyricism, delicate emotions, and mystical intuition. However, the occurrence of the Islamic Revolution and the outbreak of the Iran–Iraq War (1980–1988) brought about a paradigmatic transformation in the context of meaning production and paved the way for the emergence of a new poetic mode known as the “Sacred Defense ghazal” or the “ghazal-epic.” Employing a descriptive-analytical approach and drawing on documentary research and qualitative content analysis, the present study seeks to identify and classify the thematic and substantive innovations of the ghazal during the eight-year period of the Sacred Defense. The central problem addressed in this study is how the collective and combative character of the “epic” was structurally and conceptually reconciled with the traditionally feminine, lyrical, and individual nature of the “ghazal.” The findings indicate that committed ghazal poets, by drawing upon the intertextual resources of Ashura culture, religious symbolism, and concrete imagery from the battlefronts, introduced fundamental transformations into the conventional components of the ghazal. Accordingly, the poet’s “individual self” was transformed into a “collective and committed self”; the earthly beloved gave way to concepts such as martyrdom, self-sacrifice, and sacred ideals; and the external epic was transformed into an “inner and spiritual epic.” The thematic evolution of the ghazal during this period moved from predominantly exhortative and neologistic expression in the early years (1980–1982), toward greater symbolic depth and an integration of lyricism and epic discourse in the middle years (1983–1987), and ultimately toward critical elegy, representations of the alienation and solitude of disabled war veterans, and a sense of regret over having been left behind by the caravan of martyrs following the acceptance of United Nations Security Council Resolution 598 in 1988. Thus, without abandoning its traditional prosodic structure, the Sacred Defense ghazal succeeded in becoming a dynamic medium for preserving collective memory and constructing historical identity.