A Study of Acceptability in Yadollah Royaei’s “Haftād Sang-e Qabr” and “Lab-Rikhteh-ha”: A De Beaugrande and Dresslerian Reading of Textuality

Since ancient times, thinkers and theoreticians have been preoccupied with the text and communication with the addressee. This, in turn, has led to various and, at times, contradictory theories and opinions regarding textuality and communication; for instance, contemporary theories such as “death of the author,” reader-response theory,” “text-centred literary theory,” etc. are among the reader-centred theories. Echoing their predecessors, De Beaugrande and Dressler introduced seven criteria for analysing a text as a communicative event; “acceptability” is one of the seven criteria. As a creative contemporary Iranian poet, Yadollah Royaei uses a style of poetry, “Hajm,” which has received mixes views by his supporters and critics. In this regard, informed by De Beaugrande and Dressler’s theory of textuality, the present study adopts a descriptive-analytic approach to investigate acceptability in Yadollah Royaei’s “Haftād Sang-e Qabr” and “Lab-Rikhteh-ha.” The results of this study show that “Haftād Sang-e Qabr” was more well-received than “Lab-Rikhteh-ha.”
 
Extended Abstract
1. Introduction
De Beaugrande and Dressler’s theory of textuality investigates the text. In their view, a text is a system which entails many correlative layers. They introduced seven criteria for analysing a text as a communicative event. “Acceptability,” which is one of the seven criteria, is in accordance with the socio-cultural aspects of communication. As a creative contemporary Iranian poet, Yadollah Royaei has received mixes views by his supporters and critics. In this regard, informed by De Beaugrande and Dressler’s theory of textuality, one can investigate acceptability in Yadollah Royaei’s style of poetry, reflected in his “Hajm,”  “Haftād Sang-e Qabr” and “Lab-Rikhteh-ha.”
2. Methodology
The present study adopts a descriptive-analytic approach to investigate acceptability in Yadollah Royaei’s “Haftād Sang-e Qabr” and “Lab-Rikhteh-ha.”
3. Theoretical Framework
Echoing their predecessors, De Beaugrande and Dressler introduced seven correlative criteria for analysing a text as a communicative event. The seven criteria are cohesion, coherence, intentionality, acceptability, informativity, situationality, and intertextuality. The present study adopts a descriptive-analytic approach to investigate acceptability in Yadollah Royaei’s “Haftād Sang-e Qabr” and “Lab-Rikhteh-ha.” Acceptability concerns the text receiver's attitude in believing that the text should constitute useful or relevant details or information worth accepting.
4. Discussion and Analysis
Acceptability, according to De Beaugrande, revolves around the reader’s views. The first poem starts with “Foroogh.” According to the context, Foroogh is a famous Iranian poetess. Foroogh is weak and jailed, just like a pigeon. The dust on its wings shows her stasis. Her chains and shackles are of the traditional society, which domesticates all women. The pigeon is dominated, jailed, and enslaved just like Foroogh.
the pigeon’s stasis represents her inability to grow in the traditional society. Contrary to the image of the soil which represents stagnation and death, there is hope and movement in the last part of the poem. Foroogh addresses the pigeon and tells her that it was through her effort to fly that she was able to move away from the soil and bonds and shackles of the society.
Informed by the socio-cultural context of the image of the eye, one can give three readings for the second poem; it describes the three-fold birth of an eye inside an eye: The first reading is ‘love at first sight’ which gives birth to something that can be interpreted as the ethereal experience of love; the second reading is the ‘eye of the soul’ which is a mystic eye that attracts the light of the sublime; and the third reading is ‘eye as a symbol of awareness and wisdom’ that seeks the truth and is ‘open’ toward new experiences.
5. Conclusion
The most important factor in acceptability is the reader’s socio-cultural orientation. To convey his meaning, the poet creates an acceptable and probable world that revolves around the reader’s horizons of socio-cultural expectation. The presence of socio-cultural elements strengthens the connection between the poet and the reader. Among the socio-cultural elements in “Foroogh,” one can mention Foroogh, pigeon, chain, soil, wing, and movement.
There are fewer socio-cultural elements in the second poem. The only element is the eye which entails three different readings. Since the poet adopts no vivid orientation, one cannot single out a definite reading. In this regard, the reader is left in a state of confusion, which, according to Dressler and De Beaugrande, reduces the function of poetry to a one-sided and reader-centred interpretation, which lacks any real correlation between the reader and the text.
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