A Comparative Study of Nezami’s Leily and Majnun and Chaucer’s Troilus and Criseyde

Geoffrey Chaucer is the father of British poetry, born in London in 1343 and died in 1400. In this article, while introducing Chaucer to literary scholars, Nezami’s Leily and Majnun is compared with Chaucer’s Troilus and Criseyde. These love poems show two cultures, and one can see, by studying these two love poems, the remarkable similarities of Nezami and Chaucer. In both works, the relationships of the characters are similar; relatives and others try to unite two lovers, and fathers of Leyli, and Crisede cause lovers’ separation. The distinction between these two works is that Lilly and Criseyde differ in terms of loyalty. Leily is loyal to Majnun, but Criseyde leaves Troilus. The comparative analysis method of this paper is based on the American comparative school, which compares similarities and differences between literary works.
   
   
1. Introduction
 
Jeffery Chaucer (1343-1400) is the father of English poetry. He has written a lot of works. In addition to Canterbury Tales, he has written a love poem called Troilus and Criseyde. Chaucer made it famous to the extend that many writers later followed his. Robert Henryson in Testement of Cresseid depicts a sorrowful story which in different from Chaucer. John Methan follows Chaucer in Amoryus and Cleopes. William Sheakespeare wrote his Troilus and Cressida following Chaucer(Mann, 1989: 209). In this article Chaucer’s Troilus and Criseyde has been chosen to be compared with Nezami’s Leili and Majnun. The present article is don based on two questions: A. what structural similarities are there between Nezami’s Leili and Majnun and Chaucer’s Troilus and Criseyde? B. what content similarities are there between Nezami’s Leili and Majnun and Chaucer’s Troilus and Criseyde?

2. Research Methodology
The methodology of the present paper is a comparative study that compares the two works from the perspective of the American Comparative Literature School based on which we have compared the two works and have outlined the features of their differentiation and similarity. The American School of Contemporary Art, which was formed in the second half of the 20th century, considered aesthetics and attention to critique and analysis. This school regards literature as a global phenomenon and in relation to other branches of human knowledge and fine arts (Nazari Monazam, 2010: 221). Rene Wellek, the pioneer of the American comparative Literacy School, considers literariness of comparative works in comparative literature, and does not accept any limits in the field of comparative literature (ibid., 229). Wolek believes in the study of literature as a whole, which makes it possible to compare literature with arts and humanities (ibid.). Rene Wellek believes that "any comparison and analysis is fundamentally critical in practice" (Anushirvani, 2010: 42).
 
3. Discussion
In the discussion section, we compare the two poems, the similarities and differences of the two poems, we have reviewed the characters and structures of both poems. Some characters in the two works have a parallel and equivalent function and role, and the effect they have on the story process is very similar. At first these similarities are mentioned then the differences are presented. Similarities are: Love is the focal point in the two stories, and all the points revolve around this very one subject. If we remove love from the two stories, the structure and plot of the two works collapse. Leili and Chereyde are two beloveds of two works, and Majnoon and Troilus are two lovers of two stories. In both poems, the lovers die. The death of the lovers does not mean removal from the universe. They have made life in the way of love and are regarded as martyrs. In both of these stories we are faced with the holy love. Chaucer moralizes in the story of Troilus and Chreydeh and gives moral and educational points. Nezami sees Leily and Majnon as holy, who are regarded as martyrs after they die. Their tombs are considered shrines for people. People take refuge to lovers to ask them to make their wishes come true. In both romantic stories of Leily and Majnon, and Troilus, and Criseyde there are some people who help lovers. These people are referred to as helping actants in the story. The title of ‘helper’ has been taken from the Greimas theory (Grimas, 1970: 108). In Leilly and Majnon, many people help Majnon to make him unite with Leily. These people include friends, acquaintances and other people. The parents and the tribe of Majnon ask Leili’s father to make her Majnon’s wife. This similarity is also found in the story of Troilus and Criseyde. In Troilus and Criseyde, Pindarus Criseyde’s uncle and Troilus’ friend will help Troilus. He gives pieces of advice to Troilus and promises to help him. Pindarus' words are encouraging. When he informs Panadrus about his love for Criseyde, Pandarus tells him if he were in his shoes, he would write to her and would express his feelings (Chaucer, 2016: 163). He invites two lovers to his home. Pandarus leaves the house, and the lovers spend the night together.

4. Conclusion
The world's love poems have similar structures, and the most important conclusion that can be drawn is that the legends of nations are rooted in ancient archetypal patterns. Love is the most important archetype of human beings that stimulates the movement and activity of the lovers and creates parallel behaviors in lovers. In both societies, love is considered great and makes lover mover ahead. In both societies, love is considered a step to reach a form of knowledge. The poets of both countries have been influenced by their discourses of their times in describing love. Chaucer lived in the medieval period, hence he inserted the ideological mechanisms of society and social-cultural discourses into the spirit of his work. Ganjavi's Nezami is also Muslim and has put the ideological structure of the society and social-cultural discourses in Liely and Majnoon. Chaucer, a Christian poet, has drawn religious and ethical conclusions, and Nezami has drawn Islamic conclusions, and in addition to being sympathetic to the lovers, has given the readers the image of the transient nature of the world. Exciting and Platonic love plays an essential role in Iranian texture, and in its English context, love is transformative. Troilus knows the journey of love and realizes that all earthly beings are mortal and will die. The difference between these two romantic poems is in terms of loyalty and lack of it. Leily is loyal to Majnoon, but Criseyde leaves Troilus. The Trolls and Poems are an insolent tale, while the story of Leily and Majnon is a story of Leile's deep love. The structural similarities of the two work are very surprising. Leilly and Majnon's plot in terms crisis, emotion, climax, and denouement is similar to Troilus and Criseyde. In Leily and Majnon, and Troilus and Criseyde love has a triangular structure with a woman at one angle and two men are at the other two angles. In the story of Leilly and Majnon, the three sides of the triangle are respectively Lily, Majnoon, and Ibn Salam. The same structure is found in Troilus and Criseyde: three sides of the triangles are two men Troilus, and Diamides and one woman Criseyde. One angle which is represented by the rival is eliminated. Fathers of Leilly and Criseyde act as preventers and cause the separation of the lovers.