Shahnameh The Persian Book of Kings

[mortalterror]

From what I've been able to gather, the Shahnameh is the Persian national epic, written by a man named Ferdowsi, which is as impressive for it's quality as for it's massive size, weighing in at over 60,000 couplets. I've read some of it, and it compares favorably with other epics such as The Odyssey and The Divine Comedy. Unfortunately, there is no complete verse translation in English, but Jerome W. Clinton has released some excellent extracts from key parts of the epic. http://www.amazon.com/Tragedy-Sohrab-Rostam-Abdol-Qasem-Publications/dp/0295975679/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1205572587&sr=1-1

Do yourselves a favor and read this if you haven't already.

Has anybody else read this book? What did you think?

[Kafka's Crow]

I was about to say this but restrained myself, Persian Literature and specially Persian poetry is amazing in its lyrical grandeur. Though out of touch for over two decades, I could once read and write Persian, did an A Level in classical Persian Literature and enjoyed poetry no end. Firdawsi, Jaami, Nizaami, Hafiz, Roodki, Saadi, Omer Khayyam, the list goes on. I think it was Roodki, the blind poet who, when Sultan Mehmood of Ghazna asked him the price of his kingdom, the poet answered, 'a mole on my beloved's cheek.' (khaal i rukhsaar i yaar i mun). These people take great pride in their poetic heritage and quite rightly so. There are still people around who would not consider you educated unless you have read Gulistan and Bostaan by Saadi Shirazi. I hope we find a native speaker of Persian on this board. The common parlance is full of poetic anecdotes and even people on the streets know couplets by heart. Four hundred years before da Vinci, true 'renaissance men' or polymaths like Omer Khayyam, the poet, philosopher, astronomer and mathematician, lived in Persia or Iran. Persian poetry is a treasure trove of artistic achievement.
I have a copy of Helen Zimmerman's translation which I found on www.feedbooks.com. I think it is complete and unabridged. Mathew Arnold's Rustum and Sohrab depicts a tragic account of a son's death at the hands of his father in a battlefield. This episode is mind-blowing in original Persian. Shahnama is grandeur incarnate. I am seriously thinking of going back to Persian and this thread has only strengthened my intent.

[mortalterror]

Yeah, I saw that Helen Zimmerman translation on the web, but it's in prose. Same goes for the Dick Davis translation in print. You look at the Jerome Clinton translation and there's just no comparison. That is some superior verse. He translated the Sohrab and Rostam story first, and I guess he's going to release the whole thing piece by piece that way, hostage negotiation style. I'm not saying that Clinton is going to do for the Shahnama what FitzGerald did for The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, which by the way I love, but it's pretty freakin' good.

I came across Sa'di and his Golestan in the Norton Anthology of World Literature, the same place I found The Shahnama at. It looked alright, but I'll probably hold off on reading him until after The Thousand and One Nights, and the Koran, although I recognize that they are Arabic and not Persian like the others we're talking about. I've sampled a little Rumi, but his mystic flavor is not to my taste. Firdowsi was just right, and I felt like I hit the jackpot with him.

The concepts and culture didn't feel at all foreign, which I guess is a testament to it's superior craftsmanship and universal appeal. I especially enjoyed how Rostam would be forced into combat with his own son, or a prince he really admires and has no quarrel with, because a corrupt king ordered it. Even a bad king rules by divine right and so to disobey an evil order is to do evil anyway. I felt totally prepared to accept that sort of moral dilemma by similar themes in western literature, or the concept of struggling against fate I inherited from the Greeks. Rostam reminded me at various points of Odysseus for his trickery, Hercules for his strength, Achilles for his pride, and Roland for his chivalry. It's a pretty wild ride.

As far as Matthew Arnold goes, I love his criticism, but I'm not a big fan of his verse.

[Kafka's Crow]

Yeah, I saw that Helen Zimmerman translation on the web, but it's in prose. Same goes for the Dick Davis translation in print. You look at the Jerome Clinton translation and there's just no comparison. That is some superior verse. He translated the Sohrab and Rostam story first, and I guess he's going to release the whole thing piece by piece that way, hostage negotiation style. I'm not saying that Clinton is going to do for the Shahnama what FitzGerald did for The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, which by the way I love, but it's pretty freakin' good.

I came across Sa'di and his Golestan in the Norton Anthology of World Literature, the same place I found The Shahnama at. It looked alright, but I'll probably hold off on reading him until after The Thousand and One Nights, and the Koran, although I recognize that they are Arabic and not Persian like the others we're talking about. I've sampled a little Rumi, but his mystic flavor is not to my taste. Firdowsi was just right, and I felt like I hit the jackpot with him.

The concepts and culture didn't feel at all foreign, which I guess is a testament to it's superior craftsmanship and universal appeal. I especially enjoyed how Rostam would be forced into combat with his own son, or a prince he really admires and has no quarrel with, because a corrupt king ordered it. Even a bad king rules by divine right and so to disobey an evil order is to do evil anyway. I felt totally prepared to accept that sort of moral dilemma by similar themes in western literature, or the concept of struggling against fate I inherited from the Greeks. Rostam reminded me at various points of Odysseus for his trickery, Hercules for his strength, Achilles for his pride, and Roland for his chivalry. It's a pretty wild ride.

As far as Matthew Arnold goes, I love his criticism, but I'm not a big fan of his verse.

Shahnama for the epic grandeur, Hafiz and Saadi for wisdom, Rumi for the mysticism, Roodki for lyricism, Khayyam for the atmosphere in his Rubaiyaat. This language was made for poetry. You mentioned Arabian Nights but originally Iraq was a part of the great Persian Empire that emperors like Xerxes and Darius ruled. Iraq is the birthplace of the Epic of Gilgamesh, the first known piece of written literature (2000 BC). If you read Gilgamesh you will find that it harkens back to other epics and the intertextual connections are painstakingly made obvious. This shows an even older tradition of epic poetry in that region.

I had a look at the translation of the Shahnama that you linked above. It is a bilingual edition and looks absolutely fantastic. I am very very tempted to buy it as I can still read the script and it can help me a lot to regain command of the language. I have an Afghan colleague at work and I have started to speak Persian with him and things look promising. If you find time, read 'The Blind Owl' a novella by Sadeq Hedayat. Scary stuff! You can read it here:

http://www.angelfire.com/rnb/bashiri/BlindOwl/blindowl.html

There is still a strong tradition of oratory and poetry recitation in Iran, thanks to the high status of the genre called 'mersiya' or elegy written on the martyrdom of Prophets grandsons for which mourning is observed annually for forty days. 'Mersiya' employs the most elevated diction, grand style and requires a lot of oratory skills for its recitation. You may not agree but Persian is for poetry like English is for drama, or Russian and French for the novel. Poetry is an integral part of this language.

Update: I have ordered the edition recommended by you.