Analyzing the Concepts of Light and Darkness in Kasrai’s Arash the Archer Based on Greimas’ Isotopy and Actantial Model

Arash the Archer (Ārash-e Kamāngīr in Persian), a narrative poem by the Iranian poet Siavash Kasrai, is one of the favorite poems among those interested in the Persian literature. The poem deals with universally attractive themes such as homeland, heroism, chivalry, and self-sacrifice, the novelty of which is never lost. These features make the poem rich in meaning and constantly make it apt for analysis and writing. In this research, which adopts a descriptive-analytical method, the poem is analyzed by the application of isotopy and the actantial model, concepts introduced by the French semioticain, Greimas. The high frequency of words in the semantic field of light and that of the semantic field of darkness in this poem can indicate the idea that alongside the physical war between Iran and Turan, a clash between light and darkness is also present in the poem. Considering light as a symbol of knowledge and darkness as a symbol of ignorance, from a semio-semantic perspective, this poem represents a clash between knowledge and ignorance on the one hand and light and darkness on the other hand. The results of the research show that in Kasrai’s narrative of the ancient epic of Arash the Archer, Arash is represented as a unique hero who is different from many other famous heroes both in action and character. The findings also indicate that in this poem an ancient myth has been represented in a modern and realistic fashion. In this narrative poem, Arash is represented as a hero whose actions, unlike those of many ancient heroes, are directed not by hubris or wrath, but by reason and wisdom.