An Analysis of the Relationship between Text and the Illustration in the Manuscript of “Seyf ol Moluk and Badi’ ol-Jamal” based on Dialogism and Chronotope

One Thousand and One Nights is among the earliest literary works worldwide. The manuscript of the tale of Seyf ol-Moluk and Badi' ol-Jamal from the One Thousand and One Nights collection was written in Persian in Nastaliq script in 1033 AH under Jahangir, the Mughal emperor in India. It demonstrates the profound influence of the visual traditions of the Indian and Iranian cultures and civilizations. The immigration of the artists of the Safavid court at the invitation of the Mughal rulers transferred Iranian artistic ideas to the Mughal miniature school. In India, the Mughal kings developed a culture and civilization exhibiting signs of Iranian art and taste. The visual traditions persisted in the Islamic civilization while preserving artistic values. The artists created impressive works and novel experiences. On the other hand, Mikhail Bakhtin, the 20th-century literary critic, theorizes the human being in relation and dialogue with the others and the community. The dialogical principle constitutes the basis of Bakhtin's thought, enabling the discovery of truth with the aid of the others. The resulting polyphony prevents one viewpoint from dominating the others. In dialogism, the ability to enjoy awareness draws upon otherness. The other's perspective and point of view affect human behavior, with the others occupying the audience's position. According to Bakhtin, realizing the situation implies knowledge of the world, and the path to consciousness travels through rich dialogue with the other. In Bakhtin's dialogical principle, the chronotope is highly important. Social situations and diverse interactions among the subjects reveal the notion of chronotope, understood by every individual as an independent position. The tale of Seyf Ol-Moluk narrates the story of a prince who falls in love with a princess named Bad Ol-Jamal and engages in conversations with the characters in the story while seeking his beloved, whom he finds by enduring many hardships. The tale of Seyf Ol-Moluk and Badi' ol-Jamal is made up of anecdotes that continue one another, each continuously influencing another event, illuminating novel meanings, and articulating the significance of the theme of love and dialogism among the characters for achieving the final goal. The story of Seyf ol-Moluk and Badi' ol-Jamal counts among the enduring tales in Iranian fiction__the only one with a perfect counterpart in the Persian language. The present study seeks to analyze the relationship between text and illustrations in the manuscript of the tale of Seyf ol-Moluk and Badi' ol-Jamal based on Bakhtin's theories. It also investigates how the text and illustrations of the manuscript mentioned above deal with polyphony and chronotope. The research questions are as follows: 1. What dialogical relation and chronotope exist between text and illustration in the manuscript of the tale of Seyf ol-Moluk and Badi' ol-Jamal? 2. How can similarities and differences of dialogism between the story narrative and the illustrations of this version be examined? The study employs a descriptive and analytical methodology and gathers data from library sources by utilizing note-taking and image reading. The research draws on a qualitative method to analyze the data. The findings suggest that Seyf ol-Moluk accomplishes his goal accompanied by polyphony among the other characters alongside the story text and illustrations. The dialogism among narrative elements and illustrations of this version is highly rich and harmonic. In keeping with the Iranian traditions and Indian indigenous culture, the human being is placed at the center of attention and contextualized in the environment. Essentially, the story puts forward dialogism between them. The element of language and dialogue play an influential role. The characters portrayed in the story narrative and illustrations of this manuscript hold a variety of viewpoints regarding one another. Polyphony and dialogism among humans are observed among human beings placed in the context of the environment. The stratification and structure of the space is richly described. Furthermore, the narrative and visual elements are equally important, each enjoying its unique language and dialogue. Despite all its ups and downs, the world of Seyf ol-Moluk displays a world in which the other matters. The personal world of Seyf ol-Moluk as an independent prince is not superior to the others and is not monologic due to otherness. Thus, the effects of polyphony are apparent in diverse manifestations, and the illustration artist has created a work based on Bakhtin's dialogical principle based on the story narrative. On the other hand, the chronotope in the text of the tale of Seyf ol-Moluk and Badi' ol-Jamal and the manuscript illustrations are in keeping with one another, demonstrating the importance of each character's life in their particular chronotope. The chronotope in the narrative text affects the fate of characters. With each chronotope in the story, a new situation emerges. The chronotope in the illustrations evokes the particular position of each character, displayed through unique visual components.