A Study of the Different Manifestations of Love and the Presentation of Each One in Persian Adolescents’ Poetry (from 2001 to 2017)

A Study of the Different Manifestations of Love and the Presentation of Each One in Persian Adolescents’ Poetry (from 2001 to 2017)
 
Farzaneh Mirzakhani
M.A. in Children’s and Adolescents’ Literature, Shiraz University
 
Introduction
Love is one of the most important themes in Persian poetry and one of the most sensitive subject matters in adolescent years which finds various manifestations in different periods. Expressing love themes is effective on the emotional maturity of the adolescents; therefore, it is necessary to study how and to what extent love is present in adolescents’ poetry. Such studies will not only expand the body of research literature on the topic, but also improve the quality of the future works of adolescent poetry.
In Iranian children’s literature, love appears in different forms such as loving a doll, loving the mother, etc. This study aims to analyze how love, which is one of the most important concerns of the time of puberty, is represented in adolescents’ poetry.
Before 2001, poets did not pay much attention to the subject matter of love in children’s and adolescents’ poetry. Through 1990s, few poets such as Naser Keshavarz talked about worldly love in their works. since 2001, though, with the appearance of new psychological concerns in the literary arena, poets turned toward writing love poems. In those years, specialized conferences were held in the field of children’s and adolescents’ literature and a few writers in this field emphasized the importance of the topic of love in their lectures and interviews. Since then, poets gradually started to take the topic of love and adolescence seriously.
 
Methodology, Review of Literature and Purpose
The main purpose of this research is to study the types of love and the presence of each type in Persian adolescents’ poetry. To this end, poems published for the first time in Iran between 2001 and 2017 are analyzed using a descriptive-analytical method. The subject matter of the poems analyzed in this research is love. In fact, being a love poem for the adolescent audience is the criteria by which the poems are selected, and they include poems in which the word love and its derivatives are used directly; poems which include romantic expressions such as missing someone; and romantic poems which talk about the effect of the presence or absence of someone or something on another person’s state of mind.
Poets are selected by a thorough search in several libraries of the Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Adolescents, special book-stores for children and adolescents and digital libraries, and also with the help of a number of well-known writers of children’s and adolescents’ poetry.
A review of the previous literature on the topic showed that love has been the subject of a few studies in children’s poetry and fiction as well as in adolescents’ fiction; but no study has focused on adolescents’ poetry before.
 
Discussion
For introducing the manifestations of love toward a person of the opposite sex, poets have used these signs and motifs:

Expressing the genders of the two sides of love
Love as a secret: Since loving a person of the opposite sex and having love relations with him/her is not acceptable in Iranian-Islamic culture, the experience of this kind of love is accompanied by a sense of guilt in adolescents and makes them keep this type of love as a secret.
Expressing the issue of marriage: Poets have talked about adolescents’ tendency toward marriage either directly or by the use of related symbols in Iranian culture such as tying leaves of grass.
Resorting to romantic fantasies: In Iranian culture, there are many obstacles on the way of adolescents to meet their loved ones; therefore, they sometimes have to make contact with them in the boundless world of fantasy. Sometimes, the beloved is also imaginary, since the adolescent imagines a beloved based on his/her needs and ideals.
Shyness and self-reserve of the two sides of love: The two sides of love are embarrassed to meet each other in person, so they talk to each other through signs and shy away from the contact. If there is ever a conversation between them, it is a short one.

The manifestations of love between parents and children are full of motherly and fatherly self-sacrifice and love toward the child.
In the manifestations of love toward God, the adolescent and God have a loving and intimate relationship. God is represented in these poems as being close and similar to humans in His actions. He is the person’s first and last friend. In this type of manifestation, poets have talked about the love of religious figures towards God, too. For religious leaders, love of God is a powerful impetus for standing against oppression.
Love toward friends: In this type of love, poets have discussed the characteristics of ideal friends while showing love toward them.
Love toward religious leaders: In poems dealing with this type of love, which are mostly about Muhammad al-Mahdi, the last and hidden Imam is Shia, poets are concerned with the effects of the savior’s presence on the lover, the environment and the world, as well as with the adolescents’ anticipation for his arrival. In representing love toward religious leaders, the general characteristics of these figures (such as their kindness) is introduced rather than their specific characteristics.
In the manifestation of love toward nature, the poet describes nature first, and then imagine himself/herself as a part of it. Love between human and nature is mutual. In love toward creation, an ordinary and insignificant phenomenon provokes the speaker and makes him/her engaged with a philosophical perception about the creation of the world and of love. Love is not only inside human beings, but also flowing through all the elements of the world.
In the manifestation of love toward one’s country, poets usually introduce Hossien Fahmideh, the adolescent soldier who sacrificed himself in the war against Iraq, as the mythical figure of love. In this type of love, similar to the love of religious leaders toward God, love is a force and a motivation for self-sacrifice and perseverance. Love and faith are related to each other and love has a holy aspect.
 
Conclusion
From 428 love poems extracted from the books in this study, 164 poems had specific signs that presented one of the manifestations of love. In order of frequency, the manifestations of love in Persian adolescent poetry are love toward a person of the opposite sex (22 percent), love between parents and children (19.5 percent), love between human and God (16 percent), love between two friends (15 percent), love toward a religious leader (13.5 percent), love between humans and nature (6 percent), love toward one’s country (3 percent) and love toward creation (2.5 percent).
In representing different manifestations of love, poets have paid attention to issues such as emotional needs of adolescents and Iranian-Islamic culture, and have made use of elements from the modern world and city life as well as nature. In the presentation of love toward God, poets have made use of Quranic verses; and in the representation of love toward a person of the opposite sex, they have employed mythical and national symbols of love.
 
Keywords: manifestations of love, love poems, adolescents’ poetry, love
 
References:
Amini, S. (2013). The son of Ordibehesht. The Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Adolescents.
Biabangard, E. (2001). Friendships in adolescence. Peivand, No. 266, pp. 47-53.
Ebrahimi, J. (2003). You smell like apples. The Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Adolescents.
Ebrahimi, J. (2013). I write cloud, I become rain. The Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Adolescents.
Ebrahimi, J. (2015). Bird is my sister. The Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Adolescents.
Hamzei, R. (2011). Hello, Dear Mahdi. Soureye Mehr.
Hejvani, M. (2015). Ups and downs in children’s and adolescents’ poetry of Iran in three decades after the revolution. Persian Literature Research Journal, 5 (1), 81-100.
Keshavarz, N. (2004a). This way, please, just hiss! Behnashr.
Keshavarz, N. (2004b). Missing colors. Behnashr.
Lotf-ollah, D. (2010). From the beginning of the bud to the end of the flower. Soureye Mehr.
Maleki, B. (2008). Come take the apple. The Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Adolescents.
Mohaqqeq, H. (2016). I ask myself. The Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Adolescents.
Mojib, F. (2007). Representation of love and friendship in children’s literature for age group A in selected publishers between 1979 to 2006. M.A. Thesis. Allameh Tabatabaei University.
Mousavian, E. (2012). A look at the concept of love in adolescents’ poetry. Research Journal of Children’s and Adolescents’ Literature, No, 53, pp. 84-89.
Mousavian, E. (2015). Ice cream Wednesdays. The Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Adolescents.
Nazar-Ahari, E. (2002). Where’s your backpack? Behnashr
Nazar-Ahari, E. (2005). Tea with the taste of God. Ofogh.
Nazar-Ahari, E. (2009). Write with the chalk of light on the blackboard of the world. Noor o Naar.
Nazari, M. (2015). Trees for you, birds for me. The Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Adolescents.
Nazzari, S. H. (2012). Without boots and umbrella. The Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Adolescents.
Pour-vahhab, M. (2005). There’s always someone. Behnashr.
Pour-vahhab, M. (2012). The bird breathed with its song. Behnashr.
Quran (2001) (M. Elahi-Qomshei, Trans.). Quran Institute.
Rahmandoust, M. (2004). Love songs. Shabaviz.
Rahnama, S. (2007). Laughter blue. The Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Adolescents.
Sha’bani, A. (2009). A person passed by my heart. Touka.
Shafiei, K. (2014). An umbrella of birds. The Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Adolescents.
Salajeqeh, P. (2008). From this eastern garden. The Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Adolescents.
Tarbon, A. (2006). Mismatched loves. Peydayesh.
Tarbon, A. (2008). Moon on the chair. The Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Adolescents.
Tarbon, A. (2009). An ice cream and five tongues. Qou.