The Researcher's Criticism on Ferdowsi's Shahnameh and the Responses

Criticism is one of techniques by which masterpieces are analyzed. Both surface structure and emotional-semantic infrastructure of masterpieces are being analyzed through criticism. Mythological, sociological and historical approaches of criticism, all related to the deep structure of literary works, have been used in this essay to answer eastern and western critics of Sahnameh (the epic of kings) of Ferdowsi. There have been many thinkers in the entire world who have researched on Persian literature from almost 15 centuries ago, and Iran's national epic has had a special place in these studies. The researchers have not merely praised this work, but have sometimes considered it through a critical look. It has been initially tried, in present research, to evaluate the comments of some older thinkers such as Movses Khorenatsi, Abū Rayḥān al-Bīrūnī, Ibn al-Athir and then, among the late eastern and western scholars, the beliefs of Theodor Nöldeke, Edward Granville Browne, and Taha Neda have been analyzed and answered. The result is the clear and explicit responses are provided in the research to answer all the old and new critics.