Sociological Study of “Four Boxes” by Bahram Beyzaie, Relying on the Words of Lucien Goldmann

Bahram Beyzaie is an Iranian playwright. He creates his committed literary works by taking an accurate regard of the world around him, using historical events and Iranian tradition. In this way his knowledge of the customs and language of each period of the history in his country, has added to the richness of his works. He is an artist who doesn’t believe in war, superstition, illiteracy, racism and blindly following anything or any procedure. In the opinion of Lucien Goldmann, the French sociologist, the author takes his creativity from his time and the society he lives in. On the other hand, the great cultural, religious, literary and artistic works are always a new expression of a worldview. Lucien Goldmann believes that what makes a genius very prominent in every civilization, is their ability to express the most important universal values in human society. Beyzaie is an artist with a sociological and questioning or inquisitive look. He defines the decisive elements of his work from the society in which he lives. He combines this decisive element with his prominent artistic taste creating some lasting Masterpieces, such as Four Boxes, one of his greatest pieces. Our purpose in the research is to look more deeply at Four Boxes and interpret its sociological roots. Of course, it should be noted that the writer's intent cannot always be expressed with determination, not only by critics, commentators or analysts, but also by the author himself,  because an artwork can engage both conscious and unconscious part of artist’s mind. But the point here is that this subconscious part of the mind is always influenced by the exterior, side, and environment and the society of the author. Among Beyzaie’s theatrical works, we chose Four Boxes for analysis and commentary with a sociological look based on the words of Lucien Goldmann. The name of Goldmann’s theory we are using in this paper is: Genetic Structuralism. Genetic Structuralism has two stages containing of comprehension and description. The necessity of this research is to help the audience to have a more accurate view of  Beyzaie’s  works. We have to emphasize that the world around any author and his intellectual system have a great impression on every aspect of the way he does his job. This effect of society could be multiplied when the writer of the play, such as Beyzaie, is the director himself and takes his plays to the scene. In this article, the interactive relationship between artist and society is examined by using the sociological theories of art (Genetic Structuralism by Lucien Goldmann). First, Beyzaie’s biography is introduced and his look at the history of his homeland. Then, we mention some Goldman’s sociological theories. Afterward, we sociologically analyze Four Boxes, one of the most famous plays that has been written by Beyzaie. Our method in this research is analytical and based on library and historical sources. In summary, this paper presents a sociological view to Four Boxes based on Lucien Goldmann’s theory: Genetic Structuralism, thus revealing yet another reason for recognizing this Iranian playwright’s mastery of this artform.