The effect of the Serial-Story form on the stories of Hossein-Qoli Mosta'ān, based on the story of Afat **

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Department of Persian Language and Literature, School of Literature and Languages, Khwarazmi University, Tehran, Iran.

Abstract

The Serial-story has been one of the informal literary genres in Iran since the Qajar period. The period of the greatest boom in Serial-story writing in Iran can be considered the years after 1320. This era began due to political events within the cultural and press environment of the country. The Serial-stories that gained popularity in Iran were generally romantic tales. Authors like Ebrahim Madrasi and Hossein Masrour had many readers. However, the flagship author in this genre was Hossein-Qoli Mosta'ān, whose stories published in magazines like "Rahnama-ye Zendegi," "Tehran Mosavvar," and "Sepid Va Siah" were in high demand, almost like gold. This article assumes that in Serial-stories published on a weekly basis, character development and plot intricacies are overshadowed by sensational events. This is not solely due to the author's preferences but also a result of the constraints imposed by weekly publications. To provide a clearer understanding of the article's content, the long story "Afat" serves as the basis. This story was published over seven years and spanned more than 300 issues in the magazine "Tehran Mosavvar." This article employs a descriptive-analytical approach to investigate the subject. Based on the evidence within the story, it is evident that the weekly publication format of Serial-stories has led to the neglect of character details in favor of incorporating dramatic incidents to engage the reader. In order to sell his stories commercially, the author employs the technique of interconnected climaxes, which will be discussed throughout the article.

Keywords

Main Subjects

Research in Narrative Literature

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 27 January 2024

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics