Shāhnāme According to Three Commentators

Shāhnāme is the manifestation of Iranian’s national identity and benefits a significance as vast as Iran’s language and culture. This article is a critical and analytic study of the first part of the third Book of Shāhnāme، i. e. The Story of Siāvosh، according to the three versions of Khāleghi Motlagh، Kazzāzi، and Joveyni. The article through explaining the methods used in each version، and comparing the explanation of the verse، demonstrates that each version has committed certain errors. In other words، we have tried to prove that the very work of interpreting Shāhnāme and explaining its verses، the same as interpreting the Ghazals of Hāfiz، is a never-ending task. Meanwhile، some criticisms about the reliable expositions on Shāhnāme، specifically the meticulous one belonging to Khāleghi are presented.