A comparative study of the eastern and western use of the "lion" symbol by Nizami and Shakespeare

Subject Areas : شعر

zohreh sakian ¹ (Persian Language and Literature, Faculty of Humanities, Bu Ali Sina University, Hamadan, Iran.)
Mohammad Taheri ² (Department of Persian Language and Literature, Faculty of Humanities, Bu-Ali Sina University.)

Received: 2023-02-05 Accepted : 2023-12-12 Published : 2024-04-27

Keywords: symbol, comparative literature, Shakespeare, Nezami, Lion,

Abstract :

Symbolism is a literary approach that uses symbols, including words, people, signs, places, or abstract ideas, to represent something beyond their literal and real meanings in the real world. The purpose of this article comparatively compares the similarities and differences between the concepts that related to the metaphorical and the mythological symbolism of the symbol of " Lion" in Shakespeare's "Othello" and "Hamlet" and great and lyrical work Nezami's "Khosrow and Shirin." The present paper shows that the use of the mythical symbol of "lion" in the expression of both authors includes extensive and particular abstract concepts. In Shakespeare's Hamlet, this symbol has associated with the concepts such as madness, anger, revenge, hatred, and in "Khosrow and Shirin" with glory and grandeur. In the book "Othello" Shakespeare used the symbol of the lion in a different way as a social strategy. An analytical and descriptive study of the symbol of the lion shows that the symbolism of the "lion" has helped writers persuade the reader to understand their mentality and accept fictional characters. In addition, we see that the authors have pursued common rhetorical goals in brevity and exaggeration; the symbol of the " Lion " beside its conventional meanings among different societies, in the works of these two writers, has its similarities in their use.