The present paper adopts and expresses a historical, analytical, and documented view on the life and works of one of the most well-known poets but obscure playwrights in Iran. Living in the late Pahlavi I dynasty, Nizām Vafā wrote plays with pedagogical and even feminist approaches, leaving his name as one of Iranian figures of dramatic literature. Certainly one of the most famous orators and poets of our country in the last century is Nizām Vafā who has even been dubbed “The founder of Romanticism” in Iran. He is among the few contemporary poets who was well-known during his lifetime and his name and poems were recorded in biographies and literary chronicles. With all the attention—superficial or critical— directed to Nizām Vafā, there is, unfortunately, a dearth of research about his plays and dramatic works and there is not any reference to his plays even in the reference books of dramatic literature in Iran. Obviously, as Nizām Vafā’s reputation is growing in relation to poetry in Iranian academic communities, his dramatic works have been, in the meantime, forgotten. Therefore, this paper aims to shed light on a small portion of his dramatic activities hoping to pave the way for further studies. In so doing, this study, first, investigates Nizām Vafā’s life and works, and then explains his dramatic works highlighting his two printed plays and a printed scenario published in Iran. Finally, apart from any bias and judgment, the dramatic structure and socio-cultural situations in Nizām Vafā’s era have been discussed in detail.
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