A Comparative Study of Repetitive Symbolic Elements of the Myth of Hero in Siavash's Mourning and Imam Hussein’s Tazieh: Genette's Hypertextual Approach

Religious beliefs are shaped by myth. Mythical heroes and innocent Imams are always considered to be among the recurring themes as the sacred and identifying elements of the Iranian culture. They are in the subconscious, beliefs, and traditions of the people. With common goals and similar destiny, they have been influential in the formation of various literary and artistic works, including Ferdowsichr('39')s Shahnameh and Taziehs. This study focuses on the semantic decoding of repetitive mythical elements, in two texts from the pre - and post- Islamic eras. Employing the Genettechr('39')s hypertextual approach, the study analyzes the story of Siavash in Shahnameh (pre-Islamic) and the Tazieh of Imam Hussein) post-Islamic(. The purpose of the research is to find out how the textual narrative was adapted by the theatrical narrative. After explaining the theoretical issues, the summary of the texts, and the characteristics of the heroes, the results are given in a table. The common or unique elements and symbols of thought and actions of the Iranian hero are sometimes manifested in an earthly-mythical and sometimes religious-historical and celestial personalities. Every year, similar rituals are repeated and reproduced in the mourning. The research method is descriptive-comparative and the analysis is done through content analysis and the use of library documents. The findings showed the following symbolic similarities: the halo of light, intelligent horse, white clothes, the presence of extraterrestrials, among others. The difference between the rituals were: the symbol of the plant god, the passage of fire, the Siavashun feather, Zulfiqar, the magical armor, among others.