بررسی اشعار ژاله قائم‌مقامی، فروغ فرخزاد و سیمین بهبهانی براساس منطق گفت‌و‌گویی باختین

Mikhail Bakhtin's theory of polyphony offers a theoretical framework for analyzing literary texts and discourses that can enhance our understanding of poems written by women from the Qajar era to the Islamic Revolution. This theory stands opposed to monological theories, which take into account only one voice as dominant. Bakhtin believes that literary texts consist of different and sometimes opposite voices that have interactions and relationships. These voices may include the voice of the author, the narrator, the characters, and even the reader. Accordingly, this article attempts to investigate and analyze the poems of three Iranian female poets, namely Zhaleh Ghaemmaghami, Forough Farrokhzad, and Simin Behbahani based on Bakhtin's theory of polyphony and dialogism. This article shows that, despite their differences, the poems of these Iranian women have common characteristics that unite them within a literary current. Such characteristics mirror impressions from previous works, a tendency to create a dialogue with future audiences and a focus on social and human issues. Using qualitative content analysis, this research interprets and examines these works, offering a new perspective on the status of women’s poetry in Iran’s contemporary literature. Eventually, the comparative analysis of the works of these poets shows that each of them has created a polyphonic atmosphere in her poems through linguistic and structural methods. This polyphonic atmosphere stems from the interaction of different voices that exist in their poems and give them depth and complexity.
Introduction
From the Qajar era to the Islamic Revolution was a tumultuous period in the history of Iran that encompassed deep social, political, and cultural developments. These developments exerted a profound influence on women’s poetry. At the beginning of the Qajar era, the majority of female poets came from noble families and courtly circles, and their poems were mostly about eulogizing princes and members of the royal court. The recurring themes of these poems were love, estrangement, mysticism, and moral concerns. As relations between Iran and the West expanded, new ideas gradually entered Iranian society, and this shift was reflected in women’s poetry. Increasingly literate women began to express their experiences and feelings and to address political and social issues. Dramatic political and social developments, the advancement of women’s literacy and educational attainment, and the expansion of Iran-West relations were among the contributing factors in women poetry. In the women’s poetry from Qajar era to the Islamic Revolution, we are witnessing the countless voices that narrate women’s different experiences and perspectives. This plurality of voices not only includes the voice of a woman who writes about love and estrangement like Forough Farrokhzad, but also a woman who laments oppression and social suffering like Zhaleh Ghaemmaghami, and also a woman who seeks independence and identity like Simin Behbahani. This plurality of voices leads us to a feminist-oriented study through the lens of Mikhail Bakhtin’s theory of polyphony.
 
Theoretical Framework and Methodology
The theory of polyphony developed by Mikhail Bakhtin—Russian philosopher and literary critic—provides the theoretical framework for analyzing literature and discourse that helps us gain a better understanding of women’s poetry from Qajar era to the Islamic Revolution. Based on this theory, literary texts should not be limited to a single voice —what Bakhtin terms monophony—but should instead consider an array of various voices which interact with one another. Using a feminist application of Bakhtin’s theory of polyphony, we can understand these voices as a reflection of different experiences and perspective of women in the Iranian society. This approach helps us interpret women’s poetry from this period as intricate and multi-faceted literature, which not only presents women’s experiences but also challenges them and reconstructs them. 
The article, framed within Mikhail Bakhtin’s theory of polyphony, addresses the central question of how Zhaleh Ghaemmaghami, Forough Farrokhzad, and Simin Behbahani—as three representatives of women’s poetry in the historical period under study—despite their differences and unique characteristics, have managed to create a dialogic and interactive space based on the logic of polyphony in their poems. In response, the article asserts that these poets, through the use of specific linguistic and structural techniques such as intertextuality, the abundance of vocative expressions, dialogic utterances, and carnivalesque elements, have generated an interactive and polyphonic space in their literary works which reflect the social and cultural conditions of their era and indicates an inclination toward generating dialogue with future audiences. The author employs qualitative content analysis to interpret the selected poems within their historical and social contexts, aiming to achieve a deeper understanding of their correlation with the social and cultural conditions of contemporary Iranian women.
 
Discussion
A comparative examination of the poetry of Zhaleh Ghaemmaghami, Forough Farrokhzad, and Simin Behbahani, based on Bakhtin’s theory of polyphony, demonstrates the presence of diverse dialogues and voices in their works. Each poet, by employing distinct linguistic and structural methods, has established a polyphonic space in their poetry wherein multiple voices interact. Zhaleh Ghaemmaghami, relying on vocative expressions and intertextuality, creates a dialogic and interactive atmosphere. The frequent use of vocatives in her poetry indicates the poet’s effort to establish direct communication with the reader and foster a form of companionship. Additionally, her use of objects as interlocutors constructs a polyphonic space in which not only the poet’s voice but also the voices of objects and elements of everyday life are heard. Forough Farrokhzad, through carnivalesque elements, seeks to produce a lively, humorous, and popular atmosphere. In her poems, various voices including people of the streets and Bazaars (marketplaces), nature, and the poet’s inner self have intermingled. This diversity of voices imparts a carnivalesque and interactive dimension to her poetry. Simin Behbahani, combining carnivalesque elements with the method of question and answer, conveys social and political critique. In her poetry, different voices such as those in power, the people, and the poet confront one another in an interactive manner. These interacting voices confer Simin’s poetry with a dialogic and critical character.
 
Conclusion
Differences in the use of linguistic and structural elements among these three poets reflect variations in their viewpoints, experiences, and worldviews. Variations in style and method of the study’s poets may be influenced by the social and cultural factors of their respective eras. Each poet lived in a distinct historical period, and the social and cultural conditions of that time affected their worldview and manner of expression. For example, the prominent use of carnivalesque elements in Farrokhzad’s poetry can be seen as a reflection of the social and cultural atmosphere of the 1960s and 1970s in Iran. Despite their individual differences, the poems of these three poets share common characteristics. All three, through narrative expression and dialogic based utterance, have given their poetry a sense of universalism and invited dialogue with future audiences. Moreover, all three emphasize Bakhtin’s concept of “self/other” and, through vocative utterances, have imbued their poetry with critical and protesting tones. The article’s final conclusion is that the polyphonic space in the poems of Zhaleh, Forough, and Simin is created by the interaction of various voices present in their poetry, adding depth and complexity to their works.