An Analysis of the Narrative Structure of Nizami’s Khosrow and Shirin

Nizami’s narration of Khosrow and Shirin is noteworthy for several points including the way these two characters meet each other, their tragic destinies despite the joyfulness of Persian romances, and the active role of Shirin. Therefore, to study the formation of the story and the tragic destinies of its characters, the article analyzes the structure of its narrative. The narration of Khosrow and Shirin begins with a complete sequence. This sequence forms two other major sequences, which are Khosrow’s efforts to gain the four desirables (Shirin, Royal throne, Shabdiz, and Barbad) and Shirin’s efforts to gain Khosrow. The sequences of the narrative are cycles of the change of situation from the stable to the unstable; actions and reactions of the auxiliary and opposing forces have a vital role in changing the situation. Each sequence begins with a change from a balanced state to an unbalanced one and ends with the possibility of transformation and, ultimately, the materialization of transformation. At the end of the narrative, because of the narrator’s belief that worldly blessings are unstable, these desirable transformations are lost and there is no sign of permanent achievement whatsoever.