The Structure of Trans-legendism in Nima Yushij’s Free Verse

Trans-legendism is rooted in the legendism of the Romantics in the late eighteenth century. Romantic poets were the first to begin legendism which is a kind of rewriting and recreating legends. But Symbolists took a step further in presenting legendism and even trans-legendism. There is a fundamental difference between legendism and trans-legendism: whereas recreating legends and legendism had been openly concerned with legends, trans-legendism was interested in the ambiguous and intertextual transmutation of legends to such an extent that sometimes the readers could not trace it back to the original legend. In Iran, Nima Yushij was the first poet to use trans-legendism in a singular manner in his free verse. The aim of the present article is to introduce narrative legends in the inner layers of Nima’s poetry, which leads to the advent of femininity and resistance to the rigid masculine language. Finally, following the trans-legendism theory, the article investigates the structure of Nima’s free verse, specifically in the poem “Snow”.
 
Extended Abstract
 
1. Introduction
The Romantics were among the first to try to recreate legends in their poetry. However, symbolists took it to a higher level and brought about greater transformations in them. Legends are either recreated, with the legend keeping a central role, or fully transformed, resulting in the intertextual metamorphosis of the legend. In Iran, Nima Yushij is the first poet to make legends undergo profound transformations in his poetry. The present article examines the structure of Yushij’s free verse, and his poem “Snow” in particular, with a focus on transformations in legends in his poetry.
 
2. Theoretical Framework
Transforming legends is different from recreating them in different ways. The degree of changes made in them, the artistic means used in this transformation, and the use of ambiguity, symbolism and intertexuality are among these differences. In the present study attempt is made to identify transformations in the legends that appear in Yushij’s poetry.
 
3. Methodology
In the present paper Nima Yushij’s poetry is studied using a feminist deconstructionist approach with a focus on the legend or how it is treated in his poetry.
 
 
4. Findings
In some of his modern poems, such as “The King of Conquest”, “He and His Dream”, “The Moonlight”, “Wicked Hope”, “In the Cold Winter Night”, “Rira”, and “Snow”, Nima Yushij has transformed some popular legends. For example in “Snow” (1955) we read:
 
Yellow hasn’t become red for no reason
the red hasn’t cast its color
upon the wall for no reason.

Morning has come from that side of the Azakoo Mountains but
Vazena Mountain is not clear.
The power of the dimly-lit snow works all its chaos
on every window-pane it settles.

Vazena is not clear;
from this, I have a heavy heart;
the guest-killing guesthouse’s day is dark
every soul jumbled together aimlessly:
some sleepy people
some uncouth people
some simple people.
 
In the legends of the region, Azakoo is sister to another mountain called Damavand. Here it seems that Vazena is Azakoo’s brother and is loved by him. The mother and her daughter are tired and pale, waiting for their brother to come back, a man who they love. Love and hatred are both red, which will cover the pale face of those who are waiting. The mother and daughter cannot fulfill their love for their brother and the story should end in death. Yushij has, consciously or otherwise, used this intertextuality to transform the legend. He has turned the legend of Azakoo into a non-legend, has made ambiguous symbols out of the colors yellow and red, and has produced a different intertextuality out of Mazandarni legends.
 
5. Conclusion
When symbolist and formalist techniques entered literature, ambiguities started to appear, in which complex traditions and old narratives were present. Traditions and their legends are no longer recreated simply. They undergo intertextual transformations in a way that they are closely intertwined with other legends or take on new forms so that they are no longer easy to recognize or extract. These narratives are usually hidden within the text because the transformation they have gone through makes it impossible for them to be studied like other common narratives or their predecessors. Many modern literary works can be studied from this perspective.
 
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