Analy Analysis of Similarities and Differences in the Poems of Qeysar Aminpour and Sandor Petofi

 

Introduction

Iranian resistance poetry, while drawing from its national, religious, historical, and regional sources, has also directly and indirectly benefited from the world resistance literature due to the wisdom of its great poets. The way poets from different nations address and reflect mythical and national elements, religious beliefs, and their unique experiences of their homelands, along with their purpose in writing this type of poetry, provides the ground for the differences among poets. Resistance poets around the world are counted as committed and dedicated poets. They intend to express the universals of resistance and sustainability by writing poems with particular narratives and themes. Qeysar Aminpour is a prominent Iranian poet with a global reach delving into the essence of defense and war to encompass themes, inner meanings, and messages that are considered important for all people worldwide.
Sandor Petofi, a freedom-loving Hungarian poet made worthy use of poetry as a tool to incite the Hungarian fighters and nation during the wars of independence and freedom in Hungary. His poetic themes are so great that he has been bestowed with the title of “Poet of the Nation and Poet of the Revolution”. His global recognition is such that in 1973, on the recommendation of UNESCO and in celebration of his 150^th birthday, he was honored worldwide. Petofi is a committed and dedicated poet who has eloquently expressed his military experiences in a sophisticated and inspiring manner through influential poems.
There are similarities between the poetry of Qeysar and Petofi due to the positioning of the two nations, Iran and Hungary, in similar situations, as well as the fundamental presence of resistance concepts in the nature and temperament of all humans, regardless of their religious, national, or ideological tendencies. These similarities and resemblances are worthy of consideration; however, they are not of an imitative nature but rather accompanied by changes, transformations, and differences. Therefore, the present study aims to investigate the similarities and differences in the poems of these two poets.
 

Methodology

This study analyzed the common themes in the poetry of two great poets (Aminpour and Petofi), who do not have a historical connection, using a comparative approach. The research method was based on the theory of the American School of Comparative Literature. The findings of the study were classified and analyzed based on the similarities and differences in the poems of the two poets using qualitative content analysis, and the results are presented in an analytical-descriptive manner.
 

Discussion

The similarities and differences in the poems of Qeysar Aminpour and Sandor Petofi are numerous. The positioning of the two nations, Iran and Hungary, in similar situations, has led their poets to turn to shared poetic and literary themes.
It is difficult to definitely answer the question of whether Qeysar knew Petofi and was consciously influenced by him or not. It should be noted that Qeysar Aminpour, in addition to his poetic art, was also a master in literary theory. The book “Tradition and Innovation in Contemporary Poetry” by Aminpour (2004) demonstrates that he was familiar with Western literary criticism schools, major Western poets, and the influence of translation on the change of style and perspective of contemporary Persian poets. Moreover, he was indirectly familiar with Petofi’s poetry through Mehdi Akhavan-Sales (a great contemporary Iranian poet), who borrowed the theme, content, and even the title of his poem ‘Dogs and Wolves’ from Sandor Petofi (Pirnia, 2021:501). Nevertheless, it is worth noting that sometimes the positioning of two nations in similar situations leads them to turn to common poetic and literary themes. The similarities and differences between the two poets are typically observed in their poetic style, which is predominantly a combination of social romanticism, social symbolism, and writing sociopolitical poems aimed at creating resistance poetry. Both poets used symbolic and simple language. Similar to romantic poets, they drew most of their poetic images from nature and then, infused them with emotional meaning so that they could convey enlightening and motivational thoughts in the political and social realm. The key similarity between the two poets lies in their common poetic themes. A religious perspective dominates the poetic themes of Qeysar Aminpour, while nationalistic and patriotic sentiments prevail in the poems of Petofi. This has led to significant differences between the two poets in rendering common themes such as patriotism, death awareness, martyrdom-seeking, describing martyrs and war heroes, freedom, perceptions of war and peace, and idealism.
 
4.Conclusion
Common poetic themes among different nations are not always the result of influence, imitation, adaptation, or borrowing, but in many cases, they have their roots in common innate grounds and the positioning of two nations or two poets in similar and identical situations. The similar conditions of Iran and Hungary, on the eve of the formation of revolutions with mass cultures against autocratic governments, have unconsciously led to similarities in some of the poems of Qeysar and Petofi.
The most important reasons for the thematic similarities in the poems of the two poets can be classified into three main categories: human nature and disposition, the positioning of Iran and Hungary in similar situations, and the established ethical principles that guarantee the dignity of humans and shape their national and human identity. The dissimilarities and differences in these triple commonalities are not inherent and essential but rather are mostly due to the determination of instances, differences in national and mythical elements of the two nations, their resistance goals, and religious and spiritual backgrounds and ideals.
Regardless of these differences, all the main and important themes of resistance are common among the two nations because human nature and disposition do not tolerate injustice and tyranny. Therefore, their opposition to oppression and injustice is manifested as protest, aggression, rivalry, confrontation, and conflict, and concepts such as freedom, patriotism, independence, honoring national heroes, death awareness and martyrdom-seeking, fighting against social corruption, waiting for a savior and a better future, etc. are considered sacred by both poets and have become the foundation of their literary creations. In these common themes, sometimes the perspectives have become completely identical, while regional, cultural, and temporal differences have at times given rise to disparities in their works.
Both poets have expressed their content in a symbolic and simple yet deep and meaningful language, and both are committed and dedicated. By adhering to the principles of social romanticism, they have infused their poems with epic and social consciousness, blurring the line between love and emotion and social struggle. Both poets have similar poetic structures. However, the poetry of Qeysar is much more artistic and diverse than that of Petofi, conveying broader global messages