Explaining the Theoretical Approach of Stylistic Features of Malek osh-Sho'arā Bahar

The antiquity of stylistic studies in Iran is seriously owed as an independent field due to the persistent and research efforts of the Malek osh-Sho'arā Bahar. By studying the research literature, we find that Bahar's Stylistics has not been properly studied and his theoretical stylistic approach has not been discovered and extracted yet. Therefore, the aim of the authors was to acquire the theory or theoretical approach of Bahar, and discover and recognize the variables and components of the stylistic theory of him, categorization, hypothesized, and presenting a model based on it by the method and technique of qualitative-deep content analysis. According to the purpose, the works of the Malek osh-Sho'arā Bahar in the field of stylistics were studied based on purposeful sampling and theoretical saturation criteria. From the content of these works by deleting , adding, modifying, and summarizing, 409 basic codes were obtained. Finally, during the three coding steps, a model of code was extracted that represents the two blocks "texture and context", and "stylistics"; It also shows the main hypothesis of how “texture and context" affect "style". The findings of this study showed that according to Bahar's view, "texture and context" has a significant impact on "style" and "stylistics", that this connection and influence has been neglected. Finally, the variables and concepts of his approach, as well as the relationships of these variables with each other are discovered and eventually lead to modeling, and reinforcing the assumption that he was a connoisseur in this field.



Introduction

Contemporary Iranian literature and research should be a logical and rational continuation of our literary, cultural, and philosophical traditions. Therefore, it is necessary to recognize and study the theories, theoretical approaches, and insights into the great and pioneers of literary research in various fields. Therefore, the aim of the authors about style was to acquire the theory or theoretical approach of Malek osh-Sho'arā Bahar, the prominent feature of modern Iranian stylistics. The antiquity of stylistic studies in Iran is seriously owed as an independent field due to the persistent and research efforts of the Malek osh-Sho'arā Bahar. Of course, in the biographies, texts of the past, and the poetry of the poets, we encounter synonymous and parallel words of "style", but this literature does not fully present the features and concepts hidden in the word "style". By studying the research literature, we find that Malek osh-Sho'arā Bahar's Stylistics has not been properly studied and his theoretical stylistic approach has not been discovered and extracted yet.

Objective

The aim of this study is to discover and recognize the variables and components of the stylistic theory of the Malek osh-Sho'arā Bahar in order to categorize, hypothesize, and present a model based on it. This study also proposes the method of qualitative content analysis in literary studies, especially stylistic studies, in order to better understand the views, background of thought, as well as the methodology of Persian language and literature.

Research Question(s)


Is it possible to achieve his theoretical approach to style by analyzing the qualitative content of his works?
Is it possible to find a model that supports theories of style in Persian to compensates for the theoretical deficit and poverty of the research in this field?
Can the result of this research and related researches lead to a new method by scientific and research solution in literature?




Literature Review

Research in the field of stylistics of Malek osh-Sho'arā Bahar is either mixed with other literary techniques such as literary criticism, rhetoric and the history of literature or they do not match the standards of today's research. These studies have not yet introduced, defined and analyzed Bahar's theoretical approach to stylistics, and they have only referred to the whole book of Stylistics or without using a qualitative or even quantitative method, they have talked about only a few stylistic components. In this respect , it should refer to the article entitled "Style Theory in Iran" (2011) that only a limited part of it, is partially related to the subject of the present study. In this article, the author has tried to explain and critique the concept of style from the point of view of Iranian stylists. This brief analysis shows that the author has not made a qualitative or even quantitative analysis of Bahar's works on stylistics. Therefore, it cannot be expected that this article will fully express Bahar's theoretical approach to style. Other studies have not been written exactly in this field with the method of qualitative content analysis, and what has been written has not been done by the method of qualitative content analysis; articles such as “Stylistic of Maghamat-e Hamedani & Hariri Based on Buziman's Statistical Stylistics”(2015) and “Statistical Stylistics Mechanisms in Evaluation of Style”(2018) have used quantitative, descriptive and statistical methods for stylistics of texts, which is not the subject of discussion and opinion of this paper.


Methodology

After studying and reflecting on the methodological issues of language and literature, the authors came to the conclusion that description and counting frequency do not lead to accurate results, rather, one should seek help from the text itself to obtain categories and components of macro-concepts, including "style" and "stylistic approach". For this reason, the method and technique of qualitative-deep content analysis were chosen, which has not been used in text analysis, especially literary research. For this purpose, MAXQDA and SPSS content analysis software were used.



Conclusion

According to the purpose and method of research, the works of the Malek osh-Sho'arā Bahar in the field of stylistics were studied based on purposeful sampling and theoretical saturation criteria. 409 basic codes were obtained from the content of these works, by deletion, addition, modification, and summarization. Finally, during the three coding steps, a model of code was extracted that represents the two blocks "texture and context", and "stylistics"; It also shows the main hypothesis of how “texture and context" affect "style". The findings of this study showed that according to Bahar's view, "texture and context" has a significant impact on "style" and "stylistics" in Iran, that this connection and influence has been neglected or not explained logically and accurately in stylistic research so far. Finally, the variables and concepts of the theoretical stylistic approach of the Malek osh-Sho'arā Bahar, as well as the relationships of these variables with each other are discovered and eventually lead to modeling, and reinforcing the assumption that he was an expert in this field.