پژوهشنامه ادب حماسی
سال سیزدهم شماره 1 (پیاپی 23، بهار و تابستان 1396)

One rather old and unknown narrative scroll is a book called the entire Shahnameh canon by the eminent philosopher Abolqasem Ferdowsi which was published in Tabriz in 1339. It is written in Turkish prose and its stories proceeds from the reign of Kayumars till the reign of Sassanid, namely Babak, Sassan, and Ardeshir, and continues to the story of Haftvad worm. The Persian reference of at least two narratives of this scroll belongs to the Safavid period and the time of compilation and translation of yet another two of its stories is towards the end of Afsharid period and beginning of the Zand era. Therefore it should be regarded as one of the ancient narrative scrolls. Precisely due to the longevity of this scroll and comprehensiveness of narration that exists in this work, a few major epic mythical points are examined in this article.

Garshasp is the greatest mythic Persian champion and Rostam is also the preeminent hero in Shahnameh. One of the most mysterious enemies of Garshasp is a demon called Gandarva who is defeated after much difficulties by the champion near the Farakhkart Sea. Akvan Div is also one of the most enigmatic enemies of Rostam who is killed by the hero Rostam after many struggles by the sea. This research looks at the two stories in terms of motifs and structure using the descriptive analytic approach. The results obtained show that the two stories as far as structure and function of two sided forces are concerned and also from the perspective of epic mythic deep structure have amazing resemblances. The structural trend in two stories, and the ideals or archetypal behavior of two champions encourage the assumption that as if the combat of Rostam with Akan Div is another version of the story of the combat of Garshasp with Gandarva or it is maybe that the two stories draw upon the same fountainhead.

Based on the turn-taking processes which is one of the study fields in Applied Stylistics, the quality of starting the conversation, the quantity and number of turn takings of the participants, time and duration of turn for every speaker, leading the subject matter of conversation by the participants and meanwhile the impact of all the aforementioned factors on the degree of command and the authority of the speakers to organize the subject of speech are dealt with in this study. The general aim of this research is to study the conversational acts on the basis of turn-taking and addressing system in the combat between Rostam and Esfandyar. The results obtained show that the alternating turns in this epic narrative coincides with the analytic literature of conversation. It seems that apart from the influence of narrator in moving the story forward, the strength and dominance of these two epic figures have significant role in assessing and predicting the outcome of the tale. In dialogues, the organization of turns taken by each speaker, type of addressing the other party on behalf of each participant, are influenced by the heroic and regal circumstances so that the narrator is often with respect to these aspects selects suitable discourse for Rostam and Esfandyar. Discourse indicative of physical strength for the former, and the one emphasizing the spiritual strength and Divine Farr for the latter.

The subject matter of this research is the analysis of the symbols used in the story of the seven trials of Esfandyar based on the theory of individuation process by Jung which finds expression in Joseph campbell’s theory of monomyth. In order to attain individuation, Campbell has considered a pattern for mythic heroes’ journey consisting of three main stages of departure, initiation, and return. The journey of Esfandyar in seven trials is examined according to this pattern and its minor stages. The Persian consciousness portrayed in Esfandyar’s profile is after Touran which is his unconscious. He journeys to this land. He who is a symbol of archetypal hero, attempts to unite with his unconscious within. With the aid of a wise mentor and occult forces, first in the seven trials Esfandyar accompanies the shadow, and then upon initiation and overcoming the carnal soul with three animas within attains unity. With a blessing acquired from this journey he returns to his society to gain power promised from the consciousness to reform and improve the society. The fact that Esfandyar later confronts Rostam and steps on a way with no return states the fact that in his exemplified journey he could not have united with his unconscious. Denied of the individuation process, together with his incomplete quest to reach wholeness, is the reason why he could not ascend the throne and unfortunately perishes half way through life.

The subject matter of this research is the analysis of the symbols used in the story of the seven trials of Esfandyar based on the theory of individuation process by Jung which finds expression in Joseph campbell’s theory of monomyth. In order to attain individuation, Campbell has considered a pattern for mythic heroes’ journey consisting of three main stages of departure, initiation, and return. The journey of Esfandyar in seven trials is examined according to this pattern and its minor stages. The Persian consciousness portrayed in Esfandyar’s profile is after Touran which is his unconscious. He journeys to this land. He who is a symbol of archetypal hero, attempts to unite with his unconscious within. With the aid of a wise mentor and occult forces, first in the seven trials Esfandyar accompanies the shadow, and then upon initiation and overcoming the carnal soul with three animas within attains unity. With a blessing acquired from this journey he returns to his society to gain power promised from the consciousness to reform and improve the society. The fact that Esfandyar later confronts Rostam and steps on a way with no return states the fact that in his exemplified journey he could not have united with his unconscious. Denied of the individuation process, together with his incomplete quest to reach wholeness, is the reason why he could not ascend the throne and unfortunately perishes half way through life.

Shahnameh enjoys significant scientific capacities in the domain of narratology and the grammar of narration. This article is concerned with the study of a genre of narration namely narrative discourse in Shahnameh in which the narrator upon narrating, all of a sudden exits from the world of the story and addresses the reader in order to have a dialogue with him. Adopting this narrative genre usually at the end of every story is based on rhetorical and exact discourse purposes and is quite influential in inducing the sense of believability of the story and it accentuates the presence of the reader. In such depicted atmosphere one can observe the communicative and emotional function of narrative discourse especially with the time change from the past to present. Also, the narratological approach of this point of view, brings about transmission of emotions, ideology, and mental states which in turn evokes direct emotional involvement with the reader. Author’s mental states and his ideological perspectives has direct logical connection with the outcome of actions and events. In a way the author criticizes and judges the actions and behavior of the characters, reveals his own beliefs so that the reader unconsciously perceives the same notion understood by the author and hence accepts his judgment. The purpose of this article is not only to put emphasis on the significance of this genre of narration but also to fully explain the objectives of the narrator in direct dialogue with the audience. This has been done on the basis of narrative criticism and structuralist narratologists’ views such as Lintvel’s.

ÑIntertextuality is based on the relationship of a text with other texts. These texts could come from two different branches but still be dependent on one culture as Shahnameh and dynastic historical documents are of this kind in a way that close connection between Shahnameh’s pre- texts and the dynastic historical accounts was formed during subsequent eras. Therefore the main question and the objective in this research is the nature of the relationship that exists between Shahnameh and its historical counterpart from the sixth century till the middle of the eighth century AH. Gerard Genette’s theory of transtextuality which is a thorough theory in this regard is used in this research. The method of research is comparative and is based on the description and the analysis of the data. The results obtained demonstrates that dynastic historians according to their historical views, and their own historiographic style in order to fulfill their own expectations and those of their audience had willfully chosen Shahnameh. In this vein they had most benefitted from four kinds of intertextual figures, quotation, allusion, plagiarism, and referencing respectively.

In the decades of 1320 and 1330 HJ, the heavy burden of defeat, agony of retracing the past, and feeling of anxiety for future events led Iranian intellectual authors to variety of escapes. The authors of this lost generation attempt to console their readers by seeking refuge to mythical narratives and allegorical stories. In this period, authors pay particular attention to myths because of their unfamiliarity and vagueness. In order to recreate character and boost the spirit of the repressed society myths are retold and reinvented. Ehsan Tabari is a contemporary Persian author whose musings in the field of philosophy and his preoccupations with political activities has cast a shadow over his literary creations hence his works are less analyzed in terms of literary theories. Philosophically speaking, he belongs to a realist movement. In his narrative works alongside showing reality he utilizes irony. The tendency towards irony is due to the harsh political climate in Pahlavi era and for this reason the manner of expression in his stories becomes allegorical. Whenever irony is injected into a literary work, one can anticipate the presence of contradiction and contradictory thoughts. Contradiction can be regarded as a device among the variety of insulting ironies which appear in many kinds of literary devices. The purpose of this article is to examine the manifestations of contradiction in the story of Yousht Fryan by Tabari. Yousht Fryan is a legendary tale which appears in Tabari’s book of Magic Journey. In this work, the author by defamiliarizing mythical concepts turns to contradiction. Since this story lends itself to different interpretations, after defining contradiction and its characteristics using the analytic method, the standpoint of this story from the perspective of literary theories such as structuralism, deconstruction, and also discourse logic is examined