Analysis of the Meaning of Death in Mevlana’s Death Poems and Ervin Yalom’s Thought

Articles in Press

Document Type : Research article

Author

Persian Language and Literature, Humanities, Farhangian University, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

Death and mortality have always been one of the existential concerns of man throughout human history and, as a shocking experience, have had a great impact on human action and behavior throughout life; in such a way that if man is unable to accept this inevitable phenomenon, this issue may become an identity or existential crisis for him. Accordingly, the present study, using a descriptive-analytical method, compares the views of Mevlana and Yalom regarding the issue of death and facing it. Our study shows that some of Mevlana’s sonnets, which were written exclusively in connection with the subject of death, have a high capacity for comparative analysis with Yalom’s views in areas such as acceptance of death, death awareness, and death thinking. In fact, it seems that similar to the concepts that Yalom raises about facing death in the field of psychotherapy, Mevlana also expresses them in the language of mystical conduct in his death poems, and introduces death as a factor for liberation from neglect and awakening and a tool for reviewing the way of behaving in this world that takes man from the surface to the depth and from neglect to awakening. Yalom also believes that man is alone in the experience of death; therefore, he must come to accept this issue; because this, in addition to reducing the anxiety of death, causes man, in the shadow of his responsible choices, to prioritize an authentic and moral life in his life.

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Persian Language and Literature

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 14 September 2026

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History

  • Receive Date: 16 July 2026
  • Revise Date: 27 August 2026
  • Accept Date: 14 September 2026
  • Publish Date: 14 September 2026

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