Analysis of Rustam and Sohrab Tragedy on the Basis of Bremond's Narrative Theory

In present research, the tragic story of "Rostam and Sohrab" is evaluated on the basis of Claude Bremond's theory of narratology. The model of Bremond is based on a dual approach upon which the fate of hero not only leads to his victory but sometimes to his failure. According to Bremond, this tragedy is formed by a main sequence and several sub-sequences that has creates the body of the story while different types of sequences such as chain, concrete and connective sequences have been used. Each sequence, according to his theory, includes three functions of possibility, process, and consequence that all consistent to and aligned with the story. "Sohrab in Touran", "Sohrab in Iran" and "Sohrab who is killed by Rostam" can be corresponded to possibility, process, and consequence functions, respectively. In terms of character, this story is a good example of active heroes who turn into passive ones and vice versa. Present research demonstrates Ferdowsi's art in narrative and storytelling. It shows that he had paid attention to all narrative elements such as setting the sequences, situations, actions and, above all, Bremond’s double approach in giving characters the freedom of goal selection.