Mirth (Cheerfulness) in Iranian Culture and Literature

Mirth (Cheerfulness) in the sense of dependency on one’s self and others and a movement toward one’s cheerful end and a kind of adjustment of the life flow to human needs is considered as a God’s gift and one of the principles of Iranian identity. Therefore, to analyze and describe it in different periods of Iranian culture and literature, one is supposed to study and consider the socio-political condition, lifestyle and the command rituals and tradition (customs) of each specific period. The primary concern of the present article is to study and elaborate on the afformentioned points, the quality and the kind of mirth and cheerfulness from pre-Islamic period. (before the outbreak of Islam) to the era of Hāfez. As a result, three types of mirth and cheerfulness such as worldly, internal (self-related) and worldly-internal are at centre of discussions, of different periods. Emphasizing on the contemporary socio-political conditions, rituals, customs and traditions, the impact of these three kinds of mirth and cheerfulness on the prominent post of each period was analyzed and delineated.