Motif Structure InHoseinKordShabestari, Shiruyeh Namdar And Malek Jamshid

The three prose epics of HoseinKordShabestari, ShiruyehNāmdārAndMalekJamshidshare the important characteristic of following a single model in their motif structure recurring constantly throughout the works.This could be traced back to the oral quality and the tradition followed by the narrators of epics.The present study first introduces these epics and then examines their motifs in four categories: epic-Ayyāri motifs, supernatural motifs, love motifs and religious motifs. Another important factor that leads to difference between these works and other prose genres is the motif of "Ayyāri" found in epics.