The Representations of "the Other" in Shāhnāmeh

The concept of "the other" came to literature and was introduced to literary theories through Mikhail Bakhtin. According to him, among the literary genres, it is only in the novel, specifically Dostoevsky's novels, which the possibility of dialogue and the presence of the other are provided. Also, he suggests that genres of epic and tragedy, like Tolstoy's novels, lack dialogic characteristics. He believes that the foundation of epic works is based on elimination of the other. In the present article, the attempt has made to show the representations of "the other" in Shāhnāmeh based on a deconstructional and negative approach to the theory of Bakhtin. These representations can be studied with respect to the following issues: 1) the creation of Shāhnāmeh as a voice versus the prevailing voice; 2) Shāhnāmeh as a meeting point of various genres; 3) institution of championship versus institution of kingdom; and 4) marriage with foreigners. They indicate to the presence of "the other" and the existence of dialogue and polyphony in Shāhnāmeh