Analysis of the development of the Iranian drama production field before the Constitutional Revolution

The common idea about the modern literature of Iran considers its beginning to be related to the constitutional movement and its flowering to coincide with the year 1300 AD. But the modernization of Iranian literature can be regarded as the logical consequence of the reformist literature of the years before the constitutional revolution. Because the roots of Persian poetry and prose of the constitutional period should be sought in the works of writers such as Mirza Fathali Akhundzadeh, Mirza Malkum Khan, and Mirza Agha Tabrizi. But contrary to popular opinion, the formation of these modern trends cannot be reduced to the personal wills and achievements of the mentioned intellectuals. Undoubtedly, within the social developments, there have also been invisible literary currents that, in a rather homological relationship, have provided the possibility of these transformations through individual wills. This article tries to gain a logical and well-argued understanding of the formation and structure of Iran's literary production field in the pre-constitutional period, relying on Pierre Bourdieu's theory of developmental structuralism. It also seeks to explain how independent and dependent dual poles of this field develop in a homologous relationship with other social fields — especially the field of power — within the field of play/drama production. The result of this article is indicative of the formation of the field of Iranian drama production with the presence of Mirza Fethali Akhundzadeh, built on the literary work of Mirza Agha Tabrizi. The result of this construction is the establishment of Mirza Agha Tabrizi in the independent pole of Iran's drama production field defined in opposition to the dependent pole, which is the place where Mirza Fethali Akhundzadeh is present in this field. The positions of these writers are considered to be the result of their stance manifested in the form of literary action. This article also seeks to explain and explain why Mirza Agha Tabrizi implements the executive conventions of Iranian drama in his plays, which can be explained based on Bourdieu's theory of action. According to Bourdieu, action always takes place somewhere between consciousness and unconsciousness, which can be expressed by relying on the concepts of habitus and field. This article has employed a descriptive-analytical method to understand historical research data, and the basis of data analysis is also based on the theoretical framework resulting from the opinions of Pierre Bourdieu, a French sociologist.