ABSTRACT
The expression of discontent (nārizȴāyatiī) is a recurring theme in the history of Persian poetry, but it was with the introduction of Shi‘r-i Naw (New Poetry) that it became recognised as a means of crystallising modern sociopolitical opposition. What has been eclipsed in the process is the enduring inner presence of the classical Islamic dilemma (which can be traced back to the Muʿtazilites and Ashʿarites) of freewill versus predestination. It is in this light that Montazeri addresses and challenges the persistent intellectual currents that both defined and normalised literature as a decontextualised form of sociopolitical “commitment” segregated from classical literary currents. In so doing, Montazeri focuses on “Nīmāic” poetry, which is known for explicitly symbolising sociopolitical realities to the extent that it is labelled “social symbolic.” Nīmāic poetry is host to the tension between the mutable and the immutable in classical literature and this is revealed through a close reading of some exemplars from both sides of the philosophical divide. Thus, while references are made to the “old” and the “new” for the sake of convenience, binary opposition is given up in favour of a reformulative continuity.
