The Tragedy of Sohrab and Rostam: From the Persian National Epic, the Shahname of Abdol-Qasem Ferdowsi
by Ferdowsi
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The tyrannical monster Zahhak upon whose shoulder grew serpents that feasted daily on the brains of Iran's youth; the giant hero Rostam who vanquished entire armies with his immense strength and military prowess; the inept Shah Kay Kavus whose greed and vanity brought incessant warfare and misery to the land he ruled; the bold princess Rudabe who defied two armies to pledge her love to the Iranian hero Zal--these are but a few of the charters who inhabit the world of the great Persian show more classic known as the Shahname, or Book of Kings. Completed in the eleventh century A.D. by the poet Abol-Qasem Ferdowsi, the Shahname describes in more than 80,000 lines of verse the pre-Islamic history of Persia from mythological times down to the invasion of the armies of Islam in the mid-seventh century A.D. From this long saga, Jerome Clinton has translated into English blank verse the most famous episode, the story of Rostam and Sohrab. It is a stark and classic tragedy set against the exotic backdrop of a mythological Persia where feasting, hunting, and warring are accomplished on the most magnificent scale. Matching the English translation line by line on the facing pages is the Persian text of the poem, based on the earliest complete manuscript of the Shahname, which is preserved in the British Museum. This lyrical translation of the tragedy of Sohrab and Rostam captures the narrative power and driving rhythm of the Shahname as no other English translation has. His rendering into modern blank verse is both faithful to the original and pleasing to the ear of the contemporary reader. show lessTags
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Member Reviews
This truly is Epic poetry. Ferdowsi was a poet of the same calibre as Homer. Unfortunately, the English-speaking world has never realized this. If you like the "Iliad," pick this up. But to truly experience this book, find it in Farsi.
A good translation of one of the most famous sections of the Persian "Book of Kings", dealing with the hero Rostam and his son Sohrab.
Story of a persian family before islam. Story of love and family written many years before Hamlet or Romeo and Juliet yet has very similar plots.
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- Canonical title
- The Tragedy of Sohrab and Rostam: From the Persian National Epic, the Shahname of Abdol-Qasem Ferdowsi
Classifications
- Genres
- Fiction and Literature, Poetry
- DDC/MDS
- 891.5511 — Literature & rhetoric Literatures of other languages East Indo-European and Celtic literatures Iranian literatures Modern Persian / Farsi literature (8th century CE to present) Persian poetry ca. 1000–1389
- LCC
- PK6456 .A12 .R82 — Language and Literature Indo-Iranian languages and literatures Indo-Iranian philology and literature Iranian philology and literature New Persian Literature Individual authors or works Firdaws i_
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 48
- Popularity
- 627,145
- Reviews
- 4
- Rating
- (4.00)
- Languages
- English, Farsi/Persian
- Media
- Paper
- ISBNs
- 3
