Cosmic Signs in Sohrab Sepehri’s Poetry and Painting

جستارهای نوین ادبی

Article 6, Volume 46, Issue 1 - Serial Number 180, June 2013, Pages 125-158   

Document Type: Research Article

DOI: 10.22067/jls.v46i1.15010

Authors

saeed zohrevand^* ; Marzieh Masoudi

Abstract

Formed contractually, signs in literature are often symbolic in nature. The poems and paintings of Sohrab Sepehri, the contemporary Iranian poet and painter, are imbued with such signs which, if decoded, are rendered more tangible and more intelligible. Sepehri’s signs have their origins in nature and Hindu and Buddhist mysticism. With his mystical intuition and Platonic aesthetics, Sepehri has come to believe in a pantheistic understanding of the universe. A significant part of his cosmic signs represents eternal light leading the poet to the truth of existence. Semiotic research can lead to the discovery of meaningful layers in his poems and paintings and can bring the readers close to the semiotic space his poems. The article tries to analyze some of the most important universal symbols according to the schools of Saussure and Pierce and shed light on the concepts and their implications as they appear in Sepehri’s works.

Keywords

Semiotics; cosmic signs; Sohrab Sepehri; poetry and painting