پژوهشنامه ادب حماسی
سال دوازدهم شماره 1 (پیاپی 21، بهار و تابستان 1395)

Feraydun is a mythic character who has a major role in the literature of Persian land. His distinctive characteristics among the mythic Persian kings have made him an outstanding figure. His own and his family’s connection with cow is one such peculiar feature. In Persian texts there are disparate references to this relationship. Feraydun is born simultaneously with Barmayeh cow, is fed by this wet nurse and is raised close to it. In his battle against Zahhak he mounts the ox and not the horse, a habit he maintains all through his life due to his modesty towards God. A complete account that Feraydun chooses a red cow, mounts it to fight with Zahhak in passing from Arvand Rud is included in a Gurani text narrated by Shahrokh Kakavandi in West of Iran. Attempt is made in this article to trace Feraydun’s connection with cow, also introduce, translate and edit the Gurani narrative text while discussing its phonography.

The wish for eternal and everlasting life has always existed ever since the creation of man on earth. The significance of this issue is to such extent that in the oldest epic text in the world, Gilgamesh words have been said about his desire. The story of Sekandar and Khezr and their search for seeking the water of life has also this theme. However in different literary texts, depending on the genre of the work this tale has had different manifestations and readings. In this research, two readings namely epic in Shahnameh Ferdowsi and mystic in Attar´s Elahi Nameh is dealt with and their difference is enumerated.

Ferdowsi and Nezami had both narrated the story of Bahram Gur and his maid in the hunting ground. This article is concerned withhow different process of naming a single character give rise to distinct narratives. The study of characterization with particular emphasis on the process of naming the characters is a major concern of this article. Bahram’s maid is called Azadeh in Ferdowsi’s tale and Fetneh in Nezami’s. The main question in this research is how characterization is intensified via symbolic names. To analyze this aspect the study of characterization and focalization is essential. According to the conclusion reached, the characters’ names are completely consistent with the genres of the narratives. In other words different perspectives and motivations of Ferdowsi and Nezami had led to creation of two different styles of narrating a single tale.

This article is concerned with the study and analysis of the influential scope of Shahnameh as a patriotic national work on the scholarship conducted by the English Orientalists on the basis of the Gerard Genette’s textual transcendence theory. The results show that out of 65 works under study written or translated under the influence of Shahnameh, 16 cases were created employing an imitative approach and 47 cases were compiled using modifying approach. The modifications include addition, omission, reduction, expansion, substitution, and compounding that for different reasons made the studied works far removed from the fidelity to the main text.
Out of 65 works under study produced by the English Orientalists, 5% used addition, 38% reduction, 3% omission, 50% expansion, and 5% compounding in their compilations or compositions. In these modifications no substitution had taken place and based on this factor those cases can be classified.

Without a doubt among the prominent works in Persian literature, Shahnameh is the richest source for screenplay adaptation. A good screenplay needs a solid structure which is provided by the recognition of super models. Wellknown masters of three act screenplay are Syd Field, representative of story based structural pattern, and Christopher Vogler, representative of character based or hero’s journey structural pattern. Shapour Shahbazi is the only Iranian who has suggested a new solid pattern for screenplay. The purpose of this article is to compare and evaluate the structure of the story of Rostam and Shoghad with the above patterns and reveal that not only Shahnameh is worthy of being compared with leading patterns but also it possesses such dramatic and cinematic potential that in itself is a role model since the final criterion for the excellence and success of a story does not necessarily lie on its agreement with the accepted patterns and indeed is dependent on the durable presence and the influence on the audience. Nevertheless, mal recognition of the literary text and not applying the efficient artistic patterns to screenplay is the major reason for the misfortune of the adapted films in Iran.

Shahnameh encompasses beliefs and thoughts of Iranian people and Persian identity can be well sought in this grand work. One of its key issues is the connection of ugliness with destruction. This belief is numerously mentioned in Shahnameh and is worthy of consideration. This research is an attempt to seek the deep structure of this relationship and then study its reflection in Shahnameh. Ugliness and destruction come together and this is rooted in many religions and sects in the ancient Iran since when the dark odious Ahriman is introduced as the creator of malevolent deceitful creatures, it follows that whatever ugliness, evil deeds, flaw, impurity and viciousness exists they all return to him. Therefore because Ahriman is terminator, his creatures are also destroyers. Throughout Shahnameh unsightly people are recognized as evil and exterminators. This motif is so strong in Shahnameh that in many cases terminators are introduced as evil and hideous characters.

This article is concerned with finding a location for the ancient Chichast Lake with special reference to mythic tale of Kaykhosrow, the Kiani King in Avesta and also consulting Pahlavi, historical, Islamic texts, and Shahnameh. Different aspects relevant to this theme such as battle of Kaykhosrow with Afrasyab, Chichast features according to various texts, location of Bahman’s Citadel and Azar Goshasb’s fire temple are the matters discussed in the article. According to the above sources and the interconnectedness of the locations mentioned, Shorabil Lake in Ardebil has been proposed for the location of Chichast Lake. The study ofgeographical features of Ardebil Province and researches carried out in this vein, the authors of this article concluded that from many aspects Shorabil Lake in Ardabil coincides well with the characteristics of Chichast Lake. This research was conducted by library method and was based on historical, geographical, and literary sources. Ancient religious texts, and Shahnameh were the main focus in this connection.

Myth is a narrative which aids people in understanding the current psychological events in life and helps man find ways to improve himself in life`s course. Dream is a natural phenomenon and is a special externalization of the unconscious which is manifested in the conscious. Myth and dream have a language that with the knowledge of symbols one can unravel its mysteries. Based on this research Shahnameh Ferdowsi encompasses dreams containing the collective unconscious myths.Dreams use a symbolic language to warn the dreamer of the events that are likely to happen in the future in order to find a way to prevent their happenings in the conscious world. Zahhak and Afrasyab, two evil kings in Shahnameh both have great dreams that hold collective unconscious archetypal images. Zahhak’s nightmare predicts his downfall by Feraydun, the hero which is realized by the uprising of Kaveh, the blacksmith and Feraydun by the Sorush’s command imprisons Zahhak in Mount Damavand. Mysterious dream ofAfrasyab, the vow breaker entails his destruction and death that is after years of combat and bloodshed Kaykhosrow avenges Siavash’s blood and ends the life of this evil vowbreaker.

The subject of word formation through using prefixes and suffixes has a long history since upon their addition to create thousands of new words new concepts and meanings find new expressions. Ferdowsi and his masterpiece, Shahnameh enjoy great national and international fame and their names have always been synonymous with the sweet Persian language. Ferdowsi and Shahnameh have been studied from different aspects, yet the writer of this article looks at Shahnameh from the linguistic perspective as far as the adjectives and their structures are concerned. What were the possibilities of forming new words in the Persian language in Shahnameh? Was Ferdowsi familiar with adjective making prefixes and suffixes and to what extent did he apply them to create new adjectives? The purpose of this article is to find answers for the above questions. This study had made use of statistical, documentary, and library based methods. The results obtained are the outcome of two years of research on all the adjectives built in Shahnameh. Finally the author of this article came to the conclusion that Ferdowsi was well familiar with the prefix making adjectives and he had applied that knowledge to form many adjectives to convey various meanings. Certainly it is no wonder that Shahnameh is recognized as a treasury of lexis in the Persian language.

Semiotics is concerned with the study of sign systems in social life. Semiotic theories are quite functional in the domain of analyzing artistic and pictorial works. In analysis of a visual text and style of works of art, semiotics approach shades of meanings of a text. Artistic creation objectifies beauty and in Persian painter’s view the realm of beauty is synonymous with the ideal world. Space in Persian painting is a manifestation of the divine space and the artist in expressing it does not use a realistic language since his language is a language of sign and symbol. The purpose of this article is the comparative study of three paintings with the common title of “Bahram Gur kills a dragon” in three Shahnamehs, Sultan Abu Saeid (dated 730 HG), Shiraz School Shahnameh (dated 771 HG Kept at Top Kopi museum in Istanbul), and Mashhad-Qazvin School Shahnameh (dated 988 HG) respectively using semiotic and stylistic approach. First theideal world and its influence and reflection on the illustrations are discussed, then symbolic signs, figures and profiles in them are studied and in between, implicit meanings of dragon and theme of dragon killing are analyzed. Also Bahram’s character in myth and history are dealt with. The nature of this research is comparative, descriptive, and analytic. The outcome of the study shows that although the painter in portraying the original poetry is faithful, meanwhile he has not been a mere follower of the text but with choosing a selected part of the poem, he mingles it with imagination and artistic traditional values of his own era and in this way he presents his own creative portrayal of these themes