Lived experience is a broad, controversial, and sometimes ambiguous term that has been used by researchers in various fields of study. While there are occasional references to this concept in literary studies, it has not yet been seriously considered by researchers. The study of lived experience and its role in the process of literary creativity is very important in explaining poetic concepts; for it is a way to better understand poetry and, moreover, can provide a criterion for examining the success or failure of a poem or literary period; moreover, the shared experience of the reader and the poet can help to better understand poetry, paving the way for reader-centered criticism from the perspective of lived experience. In this study, an attempt was made to explain the concept of experience through the Lived analytical-critical method and its modes. Then, to better understand the role of lived experience in the process of literary creativity, a systematic model for it should be defined and drawn. In this context, lived experience is divided into types such as personal lived experience, specific lived experience, and general lived experience, each of which has subcategories. The findings of this study not only explain the concept of lived experience and its role in the process of literary creativity, but also show that lived experience is one of the basic elements of literary works, especially poetry, which can contribute to the understanding of the existence of poetry, its formation, the sources of inspiration of poets, etc.
Extended Abstract
Introduction
Lived experience is one of the important and fundamental concepts used in most fields of human sciences. However, in the researches related to literature, this topic has not been treated as expected. Consideration of literary works reveals that we enjoy works of art in part because of shared life EXPERIENCES. This is because poets and artists portray EXPERIENCES that audiences can easily identify with when reading. People share many common EXPERIENCES because of the similarities they have with each other in lifestyles, social, historical, and cultural situations. But sometimes these EXPERIENCES are so interwoven with life that we can recognize them but they do not catch our attention. Now, when a poet or writer uses the same common lived experience in his poem or writing, he not only draws our attention to that aspect of life and the EXPERIENCES we have had, but he approaches us intelligently like a psychologist, and that makes the poet and his poetry successful; because when we read that poem, we feel that the poet has penetrated deep into our soul and is speaking from our heart and language; that is why we identify with him. Thus, since, in Hillman's words, "there are correlations between the life and poetry of any poet" (Hillman, 2016: 2), this article attempts to lay out a plan and model for the study of poetry by examining the theoretical underpinnings of the concept of lived experience.
Research background
Lived experience is a broad concept that can be applied in most areas of the humanities. For this reason, this concept is widely used in the fields of psychology, sociology, and philosophy, and researchers in these fields have written many articles with this title. In literary studies, however, the discussion of lived experience has not been explored as it should be. A search of various reference databases reveals that there are very few sources on lived experience in literary works. One of the most important books dealing with lived experience is Wilhelm Dilthey's Poetry and Experience. Among the books of Iranian researchers as far as the authors have researched, there were sometimes references to the role of experience in the creation of literary works, but only Ghodrat Allah Taheri has attempted to study the EXPERIENCES in the life of Maulavi and their reflection in Masnavi in the book revayat-e ser-e delbaran [in Persian] (Study of the Life of Maulavi and Historical EXPERIENCES in Masnavi). In general, no serious work has been written to explain the theoretical basis of lived experience. Considering the importance of this concept in the process of literary creation and the achievements it can bring to the practical criticism of literary works, a comprehensive research in this field seems necessary.
3. Discussion
In order to understand the role of lived experience in the process of literary creativity in more detail, it is necessary to examine it in a systematic pattern. In this context, we have divided lived experience into types such as personal lived experience, specific lived experience, and general lived experience, each of which has subcategories, and we will examine these types further.
3.1 Personal lived experience
These EXPERIENCES refer to poets who have experienced a certain problem in their lives, which is reflected in their poetry; such as the experience of divorce in the poetry of Forough Farrokhzad or the experience of prison in the poetry of Shamlou, Mahdi Akhwan sales, Hoshang Ebtahaj, etc. Generally, this kind of lived experience is autobiographical. Although this experience can also be part of special EXPERIENCES; but for better delineation of the subject and because the poet or writer experienced it personally (according to the available documents), we have placed it in the category of personal EXPERIENCES.
3.2 Special lived experience
This type of experience refers to the life of a specific type that may be experienced in a geographical, cultural, or circumstantial setting. In general, specific life EXPERIENCES can also be divided into different categories, such as climatic lived experience, gender lived experience, physical lived experience (physical limitations), lived EXPERIENCES related to social problems, cultural lived experience and so on.
3.3 General lived experience
This type of experience is not tied to any particular person or group. Everyone EXPERIENCES it, regardless of gender, social, political, climatic conditions, etc. This type of experience, which can also be called lived human experience, applies beyond geographical boundaries and limitations, and it can be said that it is common to all people on earth and understandable to each of them; because he deals with them in the course of the evolution of his soul and body, and of course they are part of his EXPERIENCES. physical EXPERIENCES such as birth, childhood, youth, old age, death, etc., and spiritual EXPERIENCES such as the human emotions; sadness, happiness, love, anxiety, etc., are such EXPERIENCES. When a poet or writer (and an artist in general) speaks about such issues that are common to almost all people, in an artistic way, he touches the souls of different people and creates a work regardless of color, race, language and nationality.
4. Result
Although the concept of "lived experience" is of great interest in philosophy, psychology, and other areas of the human sciences, it has not been studied in depth in literary studies. In this study, an attempt has been made, based on the opinions of philosophers, psychologists, and literary critics, to compile and design a plan and model for examining the basics of lived experience and studying it in poetry, so that the poetry of different literary periods can be analyzed and studied on this basis. Based on this plan, lived EXPERIENCES can be divided into three general categories: 1. Personal lived EXPERIENCES with subgroups such as divorce EXPERIENCES, prison EXPERIENCES, love EXPERIENCES, etc. (which the poet personally experienced according to the available documents and which are analyzed in biographical form) 2. Specific lived EXPERIENCES with subgroups such as climatic lived EXPERIENCES, gender lived EXPERIENCES, physical lived EXPERIENCES, lived EXPERIENCES related to social problems, and so on. 3. General lived EXPERIENCES with subcategories such as love, grief, death, birth, and so on. Of course, other types can be added to these subcategories. But what has been discussed in the context of this article can give a perspective of the situation and the study of lived experience and be very helpful for a better understanding of the poem and its analysis. This is because, apart from the fact that the lived experience plays a very important role in the realization of the poet's artistic creativity, in the understanding, reception and interpretation of the text, it also causes the audience to accompany and identify with the literary work. The lived experience, in fact, has a double function: it helps the author to create a literary work and the audience to understand the interpretation and explanation of the literary text. Reading together and sharing EXPERIENCES is what brings the poet/author and the audience closer together and determines the success of a poem.