Comparative Morphology & Arabic and Persian Maqamas

In spite of their apparent diversity and variety، Arabic and Persian maqamas are unified، which is the result of a common narrative structure. The main purpose of this study is to uncover this common structure. To this end، 124 maqamas including those of Hamadani، Hariri and Hamidi were analyzed based on Vladimir Propp’s morphology theory. The results indicated that Arabic and Persian maqamas are similar to each other in terms of character types and functioning. Moreover، in 31 functions and seven areas، they are in line with Propp’s theory. Such an approach allowed us to investigate all of these 124 maqamas within a single model and to conclude that narrative structure of these maqamas is the result of a single and primary plan، which has been effective in creation of this genre.