Representation of the Concept of Martyrdom in the Poetry of Qeysar Aminpour with a Cultural Semiotics Approach: A Case Study of Morning Breath

Document Type : Research Paper

Author

PhD in Persian Language and Literature, Lecturer at Farhangian University

Abstract

Objective: Martyrdom, as one of the foundational concepts in the discourse of the Islamic Revolution of Iran and in the literature of Sacred Defense, occupies a distinctive position within the cultural and identity structure of Iranian society. Employing the cultural semiotics approach, the present study examined the representation of this concept in Morning Breath, a poetry collection by Qeysar Aminpour. The primary objective of the study was to analyze the linguistic, visual, and intertextual signs associated with martyrdom and to elucidate how these signs generate meaning through interaction with cultural codes, collective memory, and the dominant discourses of the Iran-Iraq war.
Methods: The study adopted a qualitative research design based on cultural semiotic analysis, focusing on selected poems from the Morning Breath poetry collection.
Results: The findings revealed that Aminpour constructs a semantic system through the use of signs such as light, blood, flight, flowers, Ashura, and Karbala, in which martyrdom functions as a multilayered cultural sign imbued with religious, national, humanistic, and aesthetic meanings. These signs, situated within the particular cultural context of the early post-revolutionary decades, contribute to the reproduction and consolidation of the discourse of martyrdom in the audience’s cultural memory.
Conclusions: The findings suggested that Aminpour’s poetry not only reflects the culture of martyrdom but also actively participates in its reconstruction through the very process of representation. By departing from official and propagandistic language and relying instead on poetic, metaphorical, and humanistic expression, his poetry presents an enduring and influential image of martyrdom, one that invites analysis and reflection simultaneously on literary, cultural, and social levels.

Keywords

References

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Journal of Resistance Literature
Volume 18, Issue 34
July 2026
Pages 103-119

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