Study of Diction in Ferdowsi`s Shahnameh

This article studies “diction” in Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh. Diction has different meanings and is so frequently used that amounts to the signification of “speech” as one of the bases of “thinking good thoughts, saying good words, and doing good deeds” in Shahnameh. Ferdowsi based his versification of Shahnameh on this so-called triangle to depict a clear picture of man’s life as he deserves it, i.e. a worthy life founded on this triangle. In his Shahnameh, Ferdowsi has used the term “diction” more than two thousand times, either as a single, derivative or compound word, in its literal and metaphorical senses. Then the researcher has tried to scan and study the term in all its form as used by Ferdowsi in order to discover his viewpoint of this signifier – as the sole distinction of human and animals – and its relation to the signified. Although parallel researches can reveal the significance and function of every single word in the structure of this masterpiece of Ferdowsi, the word “diction” undoubtedly matters more, for it is his only means both to narrate his Shahnameh and to express his knowledge and wisdom and his understanding and judgment. Moreover, studying “diction” in Shahnameh brings out Ferdowsi’s adroit use of the term and lets us know not only how he thought about the world but how the characters of his narratives uncover their true selves through speaking.