The Shahnameh

The Persian Epic as World Literature

Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism, Asian, Middle Eastern, Poetry History & Criticism
Cover of the book The Shahnameh by Hamid Dabashi, Columbia University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Hamid Dabashi ISBN: 9780231544948
Publisher: Columbia University Press Publication: January 8, 2019
Imprint: Columbia University Press Language: English
Author: Hamid Dabashi
ISBN: 9780231544948
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Publication: January 8, 2019
Imprint: Columbia University Press
Language: English

The Shahnameh, an epic poem recounting the foundation of Iran across mythical, heroic, and historical ages, is the beating heart of Persian literature and culture. Composed by Abu al-Qasem Ferdowsi over a thirty-year period and completed in the year 1010, the epic has entertained generations of readers and profoundly shaped Persian culture, society, and politics. For a millennium, Iranian and Persian-speaking people around the globe have read, memorized, discussed, performed, adapted, and loved the poem.

In this book, Hamid Dabashi brings the Shahnameh to renewed global attention, encapsulating a lifetime of learning and teaching the Persian epic for a new generation of readers. Dabashi insightfully traces the epic’s history, authorship, poetic significance, complicated legacy of political uses and abuses, and enduring significance in colonial and postcolonial contexts. In addition to explaining and celebrating what makes the Shahnameh such a distinctive literary work, he also considers the poem in the context of other epics, such as the Aeneid and the Odyssey, and critical debates about the concept of world literature. Arguing that Ferdowsi’s epic and its reception broached this idea long before nineteenth-century Western literary criticism, Dabashi makes a powerful case that we need to rethink the very notion of “world literature” in light of his reading of the Persian epic.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

The Shahnameh, an epic poem recounting the foundation of Iran across mythical, heroic, and historical ages, is the beating heart of Persian literature and culture. Composed by Abu al-Qasem Ferdowsi over a thirty-year period and completed in the year 1010, the epic has entertained generations of readers and profoundly shaped Persian culture, society, and politics. For a millennium, Iranian and Persian-speaking people around the globe have read, memorized, discussed, performed, adapted, and loved the poem.

In this book, Hamid Dabashi brings the Shahnameh to renewed global attention, encapsulating a lifetime of learning and teaching the Persian epic for a new generation of readers. Dabashi insightfully traces the epic’s history, authorship, poetic significance, complicated legacy of political uses and abuses, and enduring significance in colonial and postcolonial contexts. In addition to explaining and celebrating what makes the Shahnameh such a distinctive literary work, he also considers the poem in the context of other epics, such as the Aeneid and the Odyssey, and critical debates about the concept of world literature. Arguing that Ferdowsi’s epic and its reception broached this idea long before nineteenth-century Western literary criticism, Dabashi makes a powerful case that we need to rethink the very notion of “world literature” in light of his reading of the Persian epic.

More books from Columbia University Press

Cover of the book The Winter Sun Shines In by Hamid Dabashi
Cover of the book Sex, Marriage, and Family in World Religions by Hamid Dabashi
Cover of the book Seeking Justice in Child Sexual Abuse by Hamid Dabashi
Cover of the book Desiring Revolution by Hamid Dabashi
Cover of the book Imitation and Creativity in Japanese Arts by Hamid Dabashi
Cover of the book A New Foreign Policy by Hamid Dabashi
Cover of the book Politics Recovered by Hamid Dabashi
Cover of the book The New Crusades by Hamid Dabashi
Cover of the book Dissenting Bodies by Hamid Dabashi
Cover of the book Chinese Script by Hamid Dabashi
Cover of the book The Mutual Fund Industry by Hamid Dabashi
Cover of the book Losing Tim by Hamid Dabashi
Cover of the book Ecosickness in Contemporary U.S. Fiction by Hamid Dabashi
Cover of the book The Future of Us by Hamid Dabashi
Cover of the book Strong Society, Smart State by Hamid Dabashi
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy