A Structuralistic View Towards the Stories of Kavous

The time of Kian in Shahnameh starts with Keyghobad and it is among the most important mythological periods of the national epic. Keykavous, Keyghobad’s son, is one of the most important characters in this period. Many of the impressive and engrossing epical stories, such as Mazandaran War, Hamavaran War, Travel to Sky, Rostam & Sohrab, and Siavash, occur in his time. It seems that these stories follow some clear structural features. Deliberation in these stories reveals the presence of some particular recurring patterns. This study intends to evaluate the structure of the stories within the time of Keykavous, on the basis of the suggested viewpoints in Structuralism, focusing on Prop Approach. This study aims at revealing which stories have similar structures and which stories have different ones. The findings of the study indicate that the major functions in these stories – except for the story of Rostam & Sohrab – are similar. Moreover, based on the outside-of-the-text information, this study proposes a novel view to its audience with regard to the characters, especially Rostam, Keykavous, etc.