A comparative study of the poetic theories of Adonis and Shafiei Kadkani

Comparative study of critical theories of contemporary Arab and Iranian poets can have a unique part in literary analysis. In general, new poetic critical theories are under the influence of the intellectual origins of contemporary German and French philosophies. Adonis and Shafiei Kadkani are two influential critic poets who have discussed poetic concepts and components in their critical articles and books with specific tact. The present study was a descriptive-analytical investigation into analyzing critical views of these two poets based on American school of comparative approach in the fields of definition of poetry, and language and music of poetry. The results of the study showed that the two critics have common intellectual foundations; therefore, they have some similar critical viewpoints. However, their critical approaches are different in terms of both methodology and intellectual depth. Compared to Shafiei Kadkani, Adonis has a deeper, more organized, and more daring view toward poetic categories and poetic language.