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Akhavan's “The Ending of Shahnameh”: A Critique

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2022

Sorour Soroudi
Sorour Soroudi*
Affiliation:
University of California, Los Angeles
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Extract

A considerable amount of Persian poetry has been translated into other languages including English. Quite frequently these translations are free renderings of the original, only vaguely conveying the message of the poet. Other translators have tried to be more faithful to the original and to give the English reader a closer understanding of the meaning. However, even such attempts do not enable the reader to experience the poem as in the original language with its poetic felicities. The following is an attempt to present a Persian poem in a different way, by providing a literal translation accompanied by a commentary. The literal translation is accompanied by the Persian text so that those who have even the slightest familiarity with the language may be able to experience the poem in a fuller and deeper way. In addition the lines of the literal translation are numbered so that the reader may refer to the related subjects under discussion.

Type
Research Article
Information
Iranian Studies , Volume 2 , Issue 2-3 , Spring-Summer 1969 , pp. 80 - 96
Copyright
Copyright © Association For Iranian Studies, Inc 1969

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Footnotes

*

The author wishes to express her thanks to Professor Amin Banani for his guidance and criticism in the preparation of this article.

References

Notes

1. In doing so I have been inspired by the method first set forth by Burnshaw, Stanley (The Poem Itself. New York: Schocken Books, 1967)Google Scholar However, considering both the length of the poem and the alphabet of the original, I have departed from Burnshaw’s pattern in some respects.

2. Ferdowsi, 940 - 1020 (1025) A.D.

3. Light and darkness, according to the ancient Iranian religion, are the two major powers in the world. They are in constant struggle with each other, at the end of which light, the benevolent god, will conquer darkness, the evil power.

4. The harp as Zoroaster's beloved, is an allusion to the “Gathas,” religious songs of the Iranian prophet which were apparently recited, acconpanied by music.

5. The Sun (Nithra), one of the most important figures in the ancient Iranian pantheon, was responsible for the soundness of contracts and alliances. In modern Persian the word has the meaning of love and affection as well.

6. False hope on the part of some of the Iranians who expected that the new religion, Islam, would put an end to the degenerate social, religious situation of the country.

7. Cf. Supra, footnote 5.

8. According to the Zoroastrian sources, the whole world is divided into seven climes or areas.

9. The atomic bomb thrown on Hiroshima.

10. Probably the race in space and the general contest between the major powers in technological progress.

11. This word is used frequently in the Shahnameh.

12. Supra, footnote 10.

13. Demons, in the ancient Iranian mythology, are the agents of Ahryman, the evil god of darkness who is in constant struggle with Ahura Mazda, the benevolent god of light. Demons are thought to be living in fortresses and using magic means to deceive the people.

14. Light (fire), water, wind and earth according to the ancient beliefs, are the four elements of the world and hence considered to be sacred.

15. The Zoroastrian message, the socialism, or a combination of the two as introduced by Mazdak.

16. The weapons are those used at the ancient times and mentioned in the Shahnameh.

17. The adjectives sharp, dread, and fleet are placed at the end of each verse and separated by a comma from the rest of the sentence.

18. In Persian the verb comes at the end of the sentence so that the subject “we” can be separated.

19. Son of Dastan, Rostam, a mythical figure in Shahnameh, is the national hero of Iranians. He lived for a long time and as long as he was alive Iran was able to overcome her enemies. Rostam was killed when he fell in a deep well as a result of his step brother's trickery.

20. Son of Farrokhzad, also called Rostam, was an army leader who was defeated by the Arabs who invaded Iran. So, in contrast to the first Rostam, he symbolizes the decline of the country.

21. Lamb is connected with the prophet, Zoroaster, and is considered to be sacred. This mythical figure symbolizes the golden age of the Iranian empire, but can be taken also as a symbol of the great gap between the present situation of the world and the idealized past in general. In a more limited sense it may represent the lost hope of the poet himself.

22. According to the Islamic sources (also in Koran) Daqyanus (probably Decius, the Roman emperor) persecuted the believers (Christians?), six of whom fled to a cave and slept there for 309 years. When they woke up they went to the city, but nobody could understand their language and nobody would accept their money (coins) so, in their despair, they asked God to make them die.