Document Type : Original Article
Author
Ph.D. Candidate in Persian Language and Literature, Urmia University, Urmia, Iran.
10.22034/jmzf.2026.244190
Abstract
1. Introduction
Shams Langroudi is one of the distinguished poets of contemporary Persian literature, whose poetic language is characterized by features such as narrativity, simplicity of expression, the presence of lived experiences, and dialogic discourse. As Piri (2014, p. 69) observes, “In many of his poems, the poet addresses an imagined interlocutor, raises questions, expresses his emotions, or portrays social and human realities. These characteristics make his poetry an appropriate context for the analysis of speech acts and the examination of the communicative functions of language.”
Despite the considerable body of research devoted to the style, themes, and linguistic characteristics of Shams Langroudi’s poetry, relatively little attention has been paid to his works from the perspective of pragmatics, particularly through the analysis of speech acts. Accordingly, the present study seeks, on the basis of Austin’s Speech Act Theory and Searle’s classification of speech acts, to identify and analyze the various speech acts employed in Langroudi’s poetry and to demonstrate how these acts contribute to the construction of meaning and the establishment of communication between the poet and the reader.
To address this objective, the study attempts to answer the following research question:
Which types of speech acts, according to Searle’s classification, are employed in the poetry of Shams Langroudi, and what is their frequency of occurrence?
2. Methodology
The present research adopts a descriptive–analytical methodology. The data were collected through the selection of representative poems by Shams Langroudi, which were subsequently analyzed within the theoretical framework of Speech Act Theory.
3. Discussion
Pragmatic and Semantic Analysis of the Poem
I see,
and while my fingertips are being plundered,
I write with my eyelids;
I paint with my eyelashes;
with the movement of my head,
I compose a song.
I was a tranquil leopard;
you have devoured my sons,
and now, clothed in garments fashioned from their skins,
you walk before me.
I am a suitcase so full
that I can bear no lock.
I am a forgotten trumpet
that, having heard a murmur,
trembles with the excitement of battle.
(Langroudi, 2021, p. 50)
This poem is constructed upon a compact, highly imagistic, and protest-oriented language. From a pragmatic perspective, it can be interpreted as a combination of expressive, assertive, and protest speech acts, through which the poet represents a painful and violent lived experience. Here, language functions not merely as a descriptive instrument but also as a medium for protest, revelation, and the articulation of profound inner emotions.
The poem begins with the statement, “I see,” which constitutes an assertive speech act. On the surface, the sentence appears to state a simple fact; however, at a deeper level, it functions as a declaration of awareness and testimony to a painful reality. By emphasizing the act of seeing, the speaker positions himself as a witness to a traumatic event.
Subsequently, the expression “my fingertips are being plundered” presents a vivid image of violence and the deprivation of human agency. In this context, language extends beyond description and acquires both protestive and expressive functions, effectively conveying a profound sense of suffering, injustice, and oppression.
4. Conclusion
The findings of the study demonstrate that, among the various categories of speech acts, assertive and expressive speech acts occur with the greatest frequency in the poetry of Shams Langroudi. This finding is fully consistent with the emotional and experience-centered nature of contemporary Persian poetry, in which poets typically establish communication with their readers through the expression of emotions, inner concerns, and lived experiences.
Furthermore, interrogative and directive speech acts are frequently employed in indirect forms, contributing to the creation of a dialogic quality within the poetic text. As a consequence, the reader is no longer merely a passive recipient of the poetic message but becomes an active participant in the process of meaning-making and textual interpretation.
