Mythological Criticism of

The present paper analyzes one of novels in Nizami's Seven Beauties, entitled "the Black Dome", based on mythological or archetypal criticism. First the novel is reviewed in terms of its story structure and plot, based on Freytag's Pyramid. Like other classic and pre-modern novels, the narrative structure of the novel follows a linear plot consisting of rising, climax and falling or end. Then a different reading is proposed on the basis of such mythological archetypes as the category of travel, water, number, black color, mysteries, and man's descent which are rooted in men's collective unconsciousness and used as a means of narration in this symbolic novel. The review and interpretation of the archetypes which are unconsciously used in the context and narration of the novel is another pleasure of it; for example, the archetype of travel which is one of the most important mythological themes in the world of myths, fictions and novels and the whole story is formed on the basis of this category.