A Survey on the Relation of the Nation-State to the Rise of Drama Institution in the 1st Pahlavi Period

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Assistant Professor at Tehran University of Art

2 M.A. of Dramatic Literature, Tehran University of Art

Abstract

Abstract
The second half of the thirteenth century in the solar calendar (1250-1300) is very important in the history
of Iran. Vast social-political changes took place gradually and led to the Constitutional Monarchy which,
after being established and stable, caused overthrow of Qajar and advent of Pahlavi Dynasty. Despite
maintaining the monarchy system, political power of the government accepted the structural changes,
and the importance of this change was due to that. Then, a modern state or nation-state settled down in
combination with autocracy: the First Pahlavi. This situation affected different layers of the society and,
naturally, art, literature and basically aesthetics of that period were influenced. In the meantime, Iranian
drama (which had a kind of political advent under the influence of the so-called changes and social events
in the Constitution Period before) changed its face and color. But drama was not able to be a good reflection
of the nation-state in Reza Khan Period, and there were some reasons for that. Although it had some
cultural or artistic functions, and even developed, its nature and structure were artificial. Changing from
the traditional autocracy to an autocratic nation-state brought about a political-social system that needed
the advent of a genre as a medium. Meanwhile certain phenomena had important roles in the advent of this
medium. Some phenomena such as bazaar, modernity, shaping of the middle class, and other reasons had
a crucial role in distinguishing a special literary medium or genre. Every political-social period finds its
medium. This medium can be of literary forms or art genres. The Constitution did it well and its inherently
political drama came out. But the 1st Pahlavi Period was different from the Constitution Period. So by
referring to drama of the Constitution and novel of Reza Khan Period, we will clarify nature, structure and
genealogy of drama of the Reza Khan Period: how is it related to the modern state of Reza Khan, and also
how is it different from and similar to the drama, which is the other dominant literary institution in that
period. This nature comes from the society and its political system.

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