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Reformulation of Shahnameh Legends in Bahram Beyzaie's Plays

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2022

Saeed Talajooy
Saeed Talajooy*
Affiliation:
University of Cambridge
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Abstract

This essay explores Bahram Beyzaie's inter-paradigmatic reformulations of Iranian dramatic forms and Shahnameh legends in plays which highlight the voice of the periphery against the center and imbue these narratives with motifs that relate them to the present. The essay first reviews Beyzaie's work with the Shahnameh and then examines the Shahnameh cycle of Jamshid and Zahhak to provide the context for in-depth analyses of Azhdahak (1959), Karnameh-ye Bondar-e Bidakhsh (The Account of Bondar the Premier, 1996), and the first episode of Shab-e Hezar-o-Yekom (The One Thousand and First Night, 2003) in which Beyzaie reconstructs the cycle of Jamshid and Zahhak.

Type
Research Article
Information
Iranian Studies , Volume 46 , Issue 5: Special Issue: Bahram Beyzaie's Cinema and Theater , September 2013 , pp. 695 - 719
Copyright
Copyright © The International Society for Iranian Studies 2013

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