Comparative Literature and New Historicism: A Study of the Songs of "O Iran" ("Ey Iran") and "My Identity" ("Hoviat-e Man")

Today, the definition of text in comparative literature has undergone significant changes. Apart from the conventional written text, verbal, nonverbal, audio, and visual texts are now within the domain of comparative studies. Besides, today, Comparative Literature is inclusive and closely connected to other disciplines; thus, interdisciplinarity and interculturalism are its distinguishing features. Since literary theories exert a strong influence on comparative studies, and because comparative literature is interdisciplinary, the role of literary theory and criticism in propagating comparative approaches across different disciplines cannot be ignored. Literary theories and critical approaches borrow from different sciences such as Linguistics, Psychology, Politics, History, Philosophy, Economics, Social Sciences, etc. Employing New Historicism which is more rooted in History and Politics, the author tries to examine the mutual relationship between the text—the song of "Ey Iran" ("O Iran") and the song of "Hoviat-e Man" ("My Identity")—and the context. In other words, this paper tries to show how an audio text (song) shapes and is shaped by the context and how a text can in its turn form a new discourse in resistance to or in support of the dominant discourse.