The Role of Non-Verbal Relationship in Akhavan’s Poetry in Inducing Thought of Despair

Communication includes all the ways that human beings can influence others. This involves not only speaking or writing, but also all human behavior in various ways, so there are two types of communicational signs that human beings use: verbal and non-verbal signs. In communication science, special attention has been paid to how non-verbal signs influence message transmission. The research has shown that a large proportion of messages are transmitted to others through non-verbal signs. In poetry, the poet uses both verbal and nonverbal signs to be more effective in relation to the audience, but often in the analysis of poetry, the focus is on the verbal signs. Mehdi Akhavan-Sales is one of the most remarkable poets of contemporary narrative poetry whose specific characteristic of his poetry makes it suitable to use the non-verbal signs. In this study, the use of non-verbal communicational signs has been discussed to answer the following questions: Which non-verbal signs did Mehdi Akhavan-Sales use in his poetic images? What induces non-verbal signs in his poetry? Is there a significant relationship between the signs of non-verbal communication and the dominant thought of Akhavan in his poems? This study shows that Akhavan transmitted some of the concepts and messages in his poetry by depicting non-verbal signs related to the eyes, hands, feet, head and neck, lips, mouths, etc. The frequency of using these signs is higher in poems that have narrative features. The messages conveyed by these signs are often sadness, fear, concern, anxiety, uncertainty, and despondency. The high frequency of false smiles and the frequent use of phonetic messages of silence indicate that duplicity, and improbity made his poetic atmosphere full of despair. The use of these signs shows that instead of explaining a feeling or trying to convey a message, he presents an effective poem to the audience in a succinct manner.