I know that the masterpiece of Persian literature, Shahnameh, is not contemporary poetry, but I feel compelled to write about it, so forgive the inconsistency in scope.
What an amazing text. A friend of mine once said that mythology encapsulates the spirit of a nation. Here is mythology together with beautiful poetry. I'm going through the whole book from the very beginning to the end, and here are some thoughts as I go forward in my reading.
The story starts with the first King, and promptly we are taken to the discovery of fire. That's pretty much the first thing that happens in the story. I find it interesting that fire has such a prominent place in mythology of so many nations. It's hard to imagine that this exulted position comes from a considered erudite opinion upon contemplation of a grand perspective on humanity's journey, which is then introduced into mythology. It's probably much more direct. Discovery of fire was really this important to early men, and they understood its importance!
Another interesting thing is that "gouls" or /deev/ are invoked as the source of many of the most important achievements of humanity: written language, according to Shahnameh, is taught to people by the /deev/. Actually, Shahnameh specifically emphasizes that ALL written languages originated from the deev. Is it because it's so awesome that it's considered magical? Or were there really a group of people that invented the first written language, but because they looked somewhat different, they remained in the collective memory of our ancestors as the deev? Deev are also credited for advanced architecture, and for advanced textile and fabric weaving, among other things.
The evil is introduced into the story at two stages. At first, it's what you can call unconscious, almost innocent evil, in the form of Zahhak. Zahhak is not an evil person. He is possessed by satan, who takes advantage of his virtues (honoring his promises) to bend him to his will. He even resists at first, but then eventually succumbs. You can almost feel sorry for Zahhak. He is trapped and has no way out of the vicious cycle of evil. It's actually interesting that the second time that satan tricks Zahhak it's through his stomach, his taste for delicious foods. In contrast to the evil automaton that is Zahhak, true conscious evil is introduced in the form of the sons of Fereydoon, Tour and Salm. They are the first truly evil characters who commit fratricide based on conscious choice, without any supranormal forces inciting them to do so. And then, we have the gradual birth of the modern man from the simple, two dimensional characters in the earlier parts of the story. In the story of Manouchehr, we encounter deceit for the first time: Salm and Tour try to deceive Manouchehr into a death trap that is so obvious and simple that it's immediately recognized by the victim-to-be. And then, Manouchehr himself, who is a positive character in the story, uses a much more complex deceptive scheme to capture a strategic fortress. And remains a good character. Suddenly, innocence is no longer a virtue or part of the characters of the story.
A much more interesting story is that of Zaal and Roudabeh, where we are dealing with completely modern people. Zaal is the first character in Shahnameh who actively pursues knowledge: once in power, he asks to be educated and learns all the knowledge of his time at his own initiative. He is a also very modern man in his personal life: he is the first character to fall in love. This is in strong contrast to the previous personalities in the story, who copulate passively with women that they inherit (such as Fereydoon, who ends up mating with the wives of the previous king, Zahhak) or are arranged to marry (sons of Fereydoon, whom are married by their father to women chosen by his advisors). Zaal not only falls in love, but has high standards for who his wife should be: not only beautiful, but also becoming in character and status, the concept of wife as a partner, not concubine. Roodabeh is indeed a partner: she is also a liberated character who falls in love with Zaal and even schemes to gain his affection. The story of her chamber maids going to Zaal's camp site, successfully attracting his attention and then, proclaiming success "the male lion walked into the trap!", could easily belong to the 20th century. While women of the previous generation (for example, daughters of Jamshid, wives of Zahhak and Fereydoon) showed glimpses of an advisor role for their husbands, Roodabeh's mother, Sindokht, is a wise woman who successfully carries out a difficult and vital mission, saving their city from the invasion of the army of Saam by acting as an ambassador at her own initiative. Another example of a woman as an equal.
Several other aspects of this part of the story also feel very modern, for example, King Manouchehr wants to test Zaal by asking him to answer riddles, before consenting to his marriage to Roodabeh, and sees through his ostensible reason for early return to his city "No, it's not your father than you miss as your words imply, it's Roodabeh that you really miss!". People have layered characters, and a mind space capable of modulating reality. The modern man is indeed born.
What an amazing text. A friend of mine once said that mythology encapsulates the spirit of a nation. Here is mythology together with beautiful poetry. I'm going through the whole book from the very beginning to the end, and here are some thoughts as I go forward in my reading.
The story starts with the first King, and promptly we are taken to the discovery of fire. That's pretty much the first thing that happens in the story. I find it interesting that fire has such a prominent place in mythology of so many nations. It's hard to imagine that this exulted position comes from a considered erudite opinion upon contemplation of a grand perspective on humanity's journey, which is then introduced into mythology. It's probably much more direct. Discovery of fire was really this important to early men, and they understood its importance!
Another interesting thing is that "gouls" or /deev/ are invoked as the source of many of the most important achievements of humanity: written language, according to Shahnameh, is taught to people by the /deev/. Actually, Shahnameh specifically emphasizes that ALL written languages originated from the deev. Is it because it's so awesome that it's considered magical? Or were there really a group of people that invented the first written language, but because they looked somewhat different, they remained in the collective memory of our ancestors as the deev? Deev are also credited for advanced architecture, and for advanced textile and fabric weaving, among other things.
The evil is introduced into the story at two stages. At first, it's what you can call unconscious, almost innocent evil, in the form of Zahhak. Zahhak is not an evil person. He is possessed by satan, who takes advantage of his virtues (honoring his promises) to bend him to his will. He even resists at first, but then eventually succumbs. You can almost feel sorry for Zahhak. He is trapped and has no way out of the vicious cycle of evil. It's actually interesting that the second time that satan tricks Zahhak it's through his stomach, his taste for delicious foods. In contrast to the evil automaton that is Zahhak, true conscious evil is introduced in the form of the sons of Fereydoon, Tour and Salm. They are the first truly evil characters who commit fratricide based on conscious choice, without any supranormal forces inciting them to do so. And then, we have the gradual birth of the modern man from the simple, two dimensional characters in the earlier parts of the story. In the story of Manouchehr, we encounter deceit for the first time: Salm and Tour try to deceive Manouchehr into a death trap that is so obvious and simple that it's immediately recognized by the victim-to-be. And then, Manouchehr himself, who is a positive character in the story, uses a much more complex deceptive scheme to capture a strategic fortress. And remains a good character. Suddenly, innocence is no longer a virtue or part of the characters of the story.
A much more interesting story is that of Zaal and Roudabeh, where we are dealing with completely modern people. Zaal is the first character in Shahnameh who actively pursues knowledge: once in power, he asks to be educated and learns all the knowledge of his time at his own initiative. He is a also very modern man in his personal life: he is the first character to fall in love. This is in strong contrast to the previous personalities in the story, who copulate passively with women that they inherit (such as Fereydoon, who ends up mating with the wives of the previous king, Zahhak) or are arranged to marry (sons of Fereydoon, whom are married by their father to women chosen by his advisors). Zaal not only falls in love, but has high standards for who his wife should be: not only beautiful, but also becoming in character and status, the concept of wife as a partner, not concubine. Roodabeh is indeed a partner: she is also a liberated character who falls in love with Zaal and even schemes to gain his affection. The story of her chamber maids going to Zaal's camp site, successfully attracting his attention and then, proclaiming success "the male lion walked into the trap!", could easily belong to the 20th century. While women of the previous generation (for example, daughters of Jamshid, wives of Zahhak and Fereydoon) showed glimpses of an advisor role for their husbands, Roodabeh's mother, Sindokht, is a wise woman who successfully carries out a difficult and vital mission, saving their city from the invasion of the army of Saam by acting as an ambassador at her own initiative. Another example of a woman as an equal.
Several other aspects of this part of the story also feel very modern, for example, King Manouchehr wants to test Zaal by asking him to answer riddles, before consenting to his marriage to Roodabeh, and sees through his ostensible reason for early return to his city "No, it's not your father than you miss as your words imply, it's Roodabeh that you really miss!". People have layered characters, and a mind space capable of modulating reality. The modern man is indeed born.
