Shakila Najari, Alireza Nikouei, Masoumeh Ghayoori,
Volume 33, Issue 98 (5-2025)
Abstract
Gaston Bachelard (1884-1962), a prominent French theorist, investigated imagination in literary texts by employing psychological interpretations and the archetypal elements of fire, water, air, and earth. Bachelard posited that while thought generates concepts, imagination produces images, asserting that humans engage in imagination pre-perception and pre-experience. He viewed literature and art as products of pure imagination, emphasizing the significance of imaginative images derived from the four elemental archetypes over cliché expressions. According to Bachelard, imagination originates in the unconscious, determining which element primarily shapes the author's thinking. Although an author may touch upon all four elements, a single element will typically dominate their imaginative realm. The unique application of these elements across poets is rooted in their distinct unconscious minds, comprising innate desires, childhood memories, and formative environments. Consequently, individual differences in material imagination arise from biological, experiential, sensory, and intellectual variations. This study applies Bachelard's theories on the material imagination of fire, as discussed in The Psychoanalysis of Fire and The Flame of a Candle, to the works of Forough Farrokhzad. Our analysis of Farrokhzad's poetry, specifically those works referencing these elements, reveals that fire is particularly salient in her early poems, symbolizing her intense romantic passion, emotional depth, and embodied love experiences
