The fresh air of freedom in Ahmad Shamlou's poetry

Abstract

Ahmad Shamlou, Iran's most influential poet, contributed prominently to the reconstruction of Iranians' thought in the 20th century, a turning point in the history of Iran. In a land where poetry is part of national identity, Shamlou's poems evolved around the concepts of humanism, love and freedom to picture the lost portions of Iranian nationhood. The significance of his poetry lies in Shamlou's beliefs in his people who are deserved better treatment than what they received. A long time ago he wrote: " My fear is to die in a land where the wages of a grave-digger are more valuable than human freedom." On the other hand, Shamlou helped greatly to the reformation of Persian poetry which started at the beginning of the 20lh century. He added to this revolutionary movement's ambitions, one of which was to give Persian poetry a complete new identity and perspective in a way that poetry becomes a mirror of Iran's social contexts and Iranian's passion for justice in the period that, as he puts it in verse, : " they keep their fire alive/ by burning our songs and poems/ such a strange time it is, my dear!" In short, what turned Shamlou into the poet of people is his commitment to freedom of speech and human dignity. This paper demonstrates how his poetry helped plant the seeds of freedom in Iranians' hearts.