Abstract

The concept of the “other” and the mechanism of confronting it are among the most fundamental issues in philosophy, phenomenology, and interdisciplinary studies of literature that redefine the identity of the “I” in opposition or interaction with the surroundings. The background and purpose of this research is to investigate and analyze the various manifestations of the “other” (transcendental, confrontational, rival, and empathetic) in Hafez Shirazi’s sonnets of the hidden language and to explain their structural function in the formation of the semantic and identity aspects of his poetry. The necessity of this research stems from the fact that Hafez’s sonnets are not simply reflections of individual emotions, but are a rich field of research with polyphony and complex interactions between the “random self” and others, which has not been addressed from a structured perspective so far.The main question of the research is how Hafez balances the various manifestations of the other (from the beloved and the old magician to the hermit and the rival) and what effect does this confrontation have on the narrative and identity structure of his ghazal? The research method in this article is descriptive-analytical and based on the phenomenological approach and Bakhtinian dialectics, which is carried out by citing the characteristic verses of Hafez's Divan.