A Study on Several Equal Genres: Karnameh and Shahrashub; Jargon Poems and Shahrangiz

Karnameh, Shahrashub, jargon poems and Shahrangiz are the names which are mentioned interchangeably or beside each other in the sources due to some similarities and having the same roots. However, these works have so many delicate and variegated differences that can be considered as four separate genres. Of course, Karnameh can be less expected as a genre regarding the few and sometimes incomplete examples of it so that, practically, Karnameh is transformed into Shahrashub at last. The same is true about jargon poems in which the professions are described poetically and the craftsman is portrayed as the beloved but, later, they were entered into Shahrangiz genre and sometimes became extended and coherent works instead of scattered poems. Identifying the delicate features of these genres requires a lot of precision and, indeed, the inaccuracies have caused even the experts and scholars to confuse these genres until now. However, it should be mentioned that, even at the time of their currency, poets and literary figures considered these genres as not following any norm and convention; especially they were involved in some mistakes and individual innovations which produced several word plays and coinages such as Alamashub, Jahanashub, Dahrashub, Alamkub and the like. Using some taxonomic criteria and original sources, this research aims to identify and represent these equal and approximate genres for the first time.