Journal of the stylistic of Persian poem and prose
volume Number 17، number In Volume 12، March 2025 ، issue Number 106

The application of Rifater's semiotic theory in the analysis of the poem "My heart burns for the garden" by Forough Farrokhzad.

Sara Mohammadi , Arash Moshfeghi (Author in Charge), Hossein Dadashi

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Criticism of semiotics is one of the systematic approaches of the second half of the 20th century, which played a role in explaining the nature and function of literary texts. In The Semiotics of Poetry (1978), French-American critic Michael Rifater proposed a semiotic framework for reading poetry that has been widely used. The present article first introduces Rifater"s theoretical approach and then, based on it, reads the poem "My heart burns for the garden" from the collection of poems "Let"s believe in the beginning of the cold season" by Forough Farrokhzad. The purpose of this research is to try for a more detailed and deeper reading of the desired poem based on the framework proposed by Rifater.

METHODOLOGY: The method of carrying out this research is theoretical and of descriptive-analytical type. In its definition, they said that it is a kind of fundamental research that uses rational reasoning and analysis methods and is carried out on the basis of library studies.

FINDINGS: After the exploratory reading, the researchers have read the poem retroactively by using their literary ability. Accumulations with the meaning of "garden" and "fish pond" showed the dominant thought of the poem. From the examination of descriptive systems with the cores of "despair" and "loneliness" and the relationship of these fundamental ideas with accumulations, conjectural sentences in the form of hypograms were obtained.

CONCLUSION: Conclusion: The structural matrix of the poem, which includes the special characteristics of the society in this poem, is as follows: the destruction and death of the garden; The indifference of different classes of people towards the fate of the society; The loneliness of the poet in concern for the society; And the future is hopeless. Finally, the characteristics of Forough Farrokhzad"s society (thirties and forties) in the poem "My heart burns for the garden" can be listed as follows through semiotic analysis: facing destruction; engaged in war and enmity; And the indifference and passivity of the people towards its fate.

Keyword
semiotics , contemporary poetry , Rifater's approach , Forough Farrokhzad

• Giro, old man. (2012). Semiotics, translated by Mohammad Nabavi, Tehran: Agah.
• McCarrick, Irnarima. (2005). Encyclopaedia of Contemporary Literary Theory, translated by Mehran Mohajer and Mohammad Nabavi, Tehran: Agah.
• Mozaffari, Alireza. (2008). Vasl-e- Khurshid (explanation of sixty ghazals by Hafez Shirazi) Tabriz: Aydin.
• Payandeh, Hossein. (2008). "Criticism of Ai Adama Nimayoshij's poem", Farhangistan newspaper, Tehran, (10) 4, pp. 113-95.
• Reffaterre, Michael. (1978). Semiotic of poetry. 1st.ed, Blomington: Indiana University press.
• Riffaterre, M. (1983). Text production. 1st ed. New York: Colombia University press.
• Riffaterre, M. (1999). Describing Poetic Structures: Two Approaches to Baudelaire’s Les Chats; Literary Theories: A Reader and Guide. Ed. Julian Wolfreys. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
• Selden, Raman and Widdowson, Peter. (2017). A Guide to Contemporary Literary Theory, translated by Abbas Mokhber, Tehran: Ban.
• Sha’eiri, Hamidreza. (2009). "Semiotic Process Analysis", Language and Translation Studies.
• Sojoodi, Farzan and Azimifard, Fatemeh. (2013). "News semiotics on television", Communication Research, (78) 21, pp. 135-158.