The Judgment of Judges: A Social Exploration of the Literary Representations towards Judges

Literature, particularly poetry, has always been a platform for social representations. This study aims to explore the social representations of judges in Iran’s literary history, specifically in poetry. Through a sociological analysis of literature, it is possible to understand how attitudes and social issues are formed as well as it is possible to investigate its historical record and how it has changed over time. Literature is at the core of Iran's social history, provides a rich source of information on various aspects of past social life. The social history of governors and judges are such phenomena that can be explored in ancient texts and literature and help to explore how the formation of attitudes towards them can be represented in the poetry.

The main goal of this research was to discover and represent historical attitudes towards judges in the literary history of Iran. In line with this goal, the research method was adapted to use is Mimesis. Mimesis is a technique of imitating or reproducing reality in literature and art.

The findings show that the status and power of judges have always been reflected in poems due to the poets’ connection with various social fields and people's everyday lives. The lack of consistent law and arbitrary judgments have been the source of criticism from people and experts. Judges have been portrayed as agents of social control rather than social justice. 

The representation of the poems reveals that people have continuously criticized and reflected the dignity and status of judges, and that there are hidden conflicts behind the scenes of social interactions. Factors such as autocratic rule, foreign invasion, judicial dependence to rulers, nomadic and ethnic dominance, etc. have influenced these representations.

Key Message:

 Judges' judgments have always been criticized by poets, and their status and dignity have always been problematic for poets. Evaluations and judgments of the public opinion of the society towards the judges have made the position of judging a difficult job for judges. The smallest feeling about their deviation from the customary and religious norms of the society has put them under suspicion.