Document Type : علمی- پژوهشی

Authors

• Golrokh Kiani ¹
• MohamadAli khazanedarloo ²
• AliReza Nikooei ²

¹ Persian literature group. Gilan University. Rasht. Guilan

² Department of Persian Language and Literature, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, Gilan University, Rasht, Iran

Abstract

Time is one of the basic issues in thematic criticism, and among the critics of this field, Georges Poulet pays more attention to the components of time and place. The main focus of Poole's criticism is to explore and investigate how to communicate with the outside world, which is done by emphasizing the components of time and place.Bidel Dehlavi's emphasis on "time" and "becoming" and its epistemological aspects in his works are one of the main components of his thought.Biddle creates a surrealistic atmosphere in his lyrical poems through symbols, images and metaphors and presents his different perception of time which is in accordance with his mystical worldview. This research aims to show the philosophical and mystical foundations of Biddle's understanding of time, that is, the idea of the unity of existence and Indian wisdom, while drawing the conceptual correlates of time and its image network.The present article examines the concepts and images related to the category of time in Bidel Dehlavi's poems with a descriptive-analytical method, and with a thematic criticism approach based on the centrality of thoughts Puleh, Bidel's perception of the present, past and future is examined in the mirror of repeated images. The result of this research is that Bidel values meditation, revelation, reflection and intuition according to the teachings of Indian wisdom and Islamic mysticism, and the high frequency of words such asmoment and other similar compoundsIt shows Biddle's attention to the category of time.

Highlights

Extended Abstract

Bidel’s Time Awareness from Thematic Criticism View

Introduction

Time is one of the fundamental subjects in thematic criticism. And among the critics in this field Georges Poulet (1902-1990) is more concerned about time and place features. The main focus of Poulet’s criticism is the search and study of the manner of connection with external world that takes place by emphasizing on time and place features. Bidel Dehlavi’s emphasis on “time” and “becoming” and its epistemological aspects whether in his masnavis or in sonnets are among the main features of his thought. In Bidel’s masnavis stories are narrated through stream of consciousness style with successive temporal jumps. And in his sonnets through symbols, images, and metaphors a surrealistic atmosphere is created that indicate Bidel’s different conception of time that is beyond linear and calendar time and in alignment with his mystic worldview.

In Bidel’s sonnets words and terms related to time category are directly mentioned more than (1500) times. Time factor is very highlighted and theme-making in sonnets and pictures Bidel’s specific type of conception of “time” category. He according to Indian wisdom and Islamic mysticism teachings values meditation, revelation, reflection, and intuition a lot. Bidel’s experiences of time according to India’s schools and religions’ teachings is always accompanied with a kind of “knowledge and consciousness”, “presence”, and moving in “existential degrees”. In sonnets and also in some of stories by creating surrealistic atmosphere Bidel expands the moment and instance. As if a long time is entangled in the “moment and instance and trice”. Therefore, in order to have more precision in reading Bidel’s poems we need two or three study traditions. One of them is Islamic mysticism study tradition and the other one is Indian study tradition that include Indian wisdom, mysticism, and mythology and another discussion is new theories whose initiator is Iqbal Lahori. 

In an article, Iqbal Lahori has studied “Bidel and Henri Bergson’s ideas” about issues such as truth, wonder, illumination, movement, and time. And in this comparison, he has made possible deep concepts such as the identity of being’s truth and time that seemed impossible. Iqbal Lahori considers Bidel the greatest thinker poet in India after “Shankaracharya”.

Henri Bergson was among the most important philosophers who tried to solve the enigma of time and his theories highly influenced philosophers such as Heidegger. By understanding this matter that philosophers and scientists’ perception of time is also applicable to space, Bergson considered time features such as quantity, division capability, and mensuration ability to be completely far from true time dimension. It’s necessary to mention that before Bergson and among Western philosophers; time was presented for a long time according to Aristotelian metaphysics. Until Augustine by presenting theology in philosophy violates time’s definition as a connected whole and considers it in the light of “world’s creation and precedence” and says; whatever exits is present in the present moment. After him, by returning to Platonic dualism Spinoza regarded two kinds of temporality: one is the time in the field of modes that’s duration and the other one is time in the field of substance that is eternity: “Eternity is the being itself insofar that it’s imagined necessarily resulting from eternal object’s definition” (Spinoza, 1997: 10). 

In thematic criticism that formed in the second half of the twentieth century under the influence of Gaston Bachelard’s ideas and also founders of Genoa school in France, time is considered among the main features of the criticism. Because pursuing the initial time of work creation guides the critic to the center of the work. In thematic reading critic and author’s experiences become one and while returning to author’s consciousness deal with studying the text. For the first time Bachelard expressed how the poet perceives time and place according to his poetic imaginations. “Bachelard who was influenced by Husserl’s phenomenology and his followers who were also influenced by views and theories of Husserl and Merleau-Ponty believed in this fundamental principle that understanding the human and the world is possible only when we consider human relation with the external world” (Moein, 78: 2007).

Georges Poulet, another prominent critic of thematic criticism, was well aware of the fundamental importance of time feature for achieving central core of writer’s imagination and in his series of criticisms dealt with analyzing the manner of percepting categories of time and place in different writers especially Marcel Proust’s works. By applying a kind of subjective time Proust established a new type of novel in literature.

Goal

This research is about to trace conceptual associates of time and its visual network as well as showing philosophical and mystical principles of Bidel’s conception of time that is the idea of unity of being and Indian wisdom.

Method

The present study with descriptive-analytic method deals with the study of concepts and related images to time category in Bidel Dehlavi’s sonnets. And with thematic criticism approach focusing on Poulet’s views investigates Bidel’s conception of present, past, and future time in the mirror of repeating images.

Conclusion

The kind of human view towards the world and its surrounding issues is rooted in subjective world and human thought. Therefore, thematic criticism’s critic finds out about the imaginative and abstract world of work’s creator through investigating visual and verbal networks and the type of author’s perception of time and place. Time has a completely subjective structure in Bidel’s thought and it’s in direct connection with “maya” concept in Indian culture and “illusion” and imagination in Ibn Arabi’s mysticism. In Bidel’s view time is imaginary and the whole being and its currents happen in one “instance”. A moment that keeping and recording it is very important in achieving “knowledge”. In addition to emphasizing on “present” Bidel discredits past and future. The wish for returning to creation moment in spite of living in the present is a concern that is constantly dealt with in Bidel’s poetry. Therefore, returning to the past is among repetitive themes in Bidel’s poetry that indicates the importance of return to initial time and return to the origin in Bidel’s thought.

Keywords: Thematic Criticism, Time, Georges Poulet, Henri Bergson, Bidel Dehlavi, Sonnets.

References

Augustin, (1396), E’terafat, S, Meysami. Virāyesh-e M, Malekiān, Tehrān: sohrevardi.

Ebn-e Sina, H., (1364), Alnejāt men al-qarq fi bahr al- zalālāt, Tashih-e M, Dāneshpazhuh.

Ekhvān al-safā., (1405), Rasāél-e ekhvān al-safā va khelān al-vafā, Qom: markaz al-nashr, maktab al-eélām al-eslāmi.

Azkāi. P., (1384), Hakim rāzi, Tehrān: tarh-e no.

https://doi.org/10.22034/perlit.2023.54457.3424

Keywords

• Theme criticism
• time
• Georges Poulet
• Henri Bergson
• Bidel Dehlavi

Main Subjects

• Literary theories