Themes and Motifs of Resistance Literature in Jangnama-i Kishm and Jirun Namah

The Portuguese colonizers' invading Iran and taking control of a part of the country prompted some of the inhabitants of Iran to confront the invaders, using any kind of weapons including military and cultural ones. Among them were the poets of the epic works Jangnama-i Kishm (1032 AH) and Jirun Namah (1042 AH) attributed to Ghadri whose poetry properly reflect the valuable manifestations of resistance to the enemy. The present research seeks to answer this question that what themes and motives of resistance literature can be found in the Jangnama-i Kishm and Jirun Namah? The finding of the study indicate that the most important manifestations and motifs of the resistance literature in the two works are: patriotism, revealing the true identity of the colonists, hatred of foreigners, religious zeal, justice-demanding and injustice-fighting, elegy for the martyrs of the motherland, taking pride in the kings and Iranian ideal legendary characters, unity and solidarity. The poets employed tow direct and indirect ways of expression while using a colloquial language to make their poetry understandable for the general public. In some couplets, the prevailing tone and atmosphere is an amalgam of epic, irony, satire on and objection to the Portuguese colonizers.