نقد صورتگرايانه اشعار طنز ديوان اسعد رستم با تكيه بر روش لوتمان

Satire, as one of the most dynamic literary genres, employs critical thinking an‎d ironic expression to present an artistic portrayal of the inner an‎d outer contradictions of individuals an‎d society. This literary form—which Chernyshevsky regarded as "the final stage in the evolution of criticism" an‎d Freud viewed as a mechanism for releasing mental energy—engages in a sharp-eyed struggle against hypocrisy, deceit, an‎d social aberrations. Within this framework, the satirical poetry of Asaad Rustam, a contemporary Arab satirical poet of the Mahjar (émigré) movement, holds a distinctive position due to his unique style in addressing social issues even under the most challenging circumstances, as well as his linguistic innovations, such as blending English rhymes into Arabic verse. This study adopts a formalist approach, grounded in Yuri Lotmanʹs semiotic theories, to analyze Asaad Rustamʹs satirical poetry an‎d examine how meaning transitions into satirical signification within his semiosphere. Lotman distinguishes between meaning (the primary system) an‎d signification (the secondary system), considering poetry a secondary system that employs mechanisms such as "rule reduction" an‎d "rule augmentation" to render non-semantic linguistic layers meaningful. The findings reveal that Rustam employs three key mechanisms—"programmed oppositions", "linguistic sign distortion", an‎d "semantic explosions"—alongside five principal techniques, such as language hybridization an‎d parodic intertextuality, to create multi-layered satire that simultaneously impacts linguistic, cultural, an‎d social dimensions. Furthermore, the semiosphere of his poetry—through mechanisms of inclusion (e.g., folk culture signs) an‎d exclusion (e.g., false values)—forms a self-regulating system that both venerates an‎d critiques tradition. Given that this study, to the best of the researcherʹs knowledge, lacks significant prior research, it not only expan‎ds Lotmanʹs theory by introducing concepts like "satirical marginalization" an‎d "reverse explosion" but also takes a step toward analyzing Eastern satire through a semiotic lens. Ultimately, the dynamic interplay between Rustamʹs text an‎d Lotmanʹs theory demonstrates that his satire not only serves as a test case for this theory but also provides a foundation for its further development.

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