Formalistic Analysis of Plot in Persian Contemporary Short stories

Fabula (story), according to Formalists, is the chronologic sequence of events and actions which is in fact the “whatness” of the narrative content, its material, and potential aspect, while syuzhet (plot), is no longer the cause-effect relation between the events, but the actual aspect of narrative that comprises all the aesthetic and defamiliarising devices that are used to represent the story as something artistic. Formalists, as to their interpretation of the concept of plot, were more concerned with the defamiliarising sides of narration and thus studied it in the categories of language, theme and devices. This article, through reviewing the distinction between fabula and syuzhet according to Formalists, shows their various aspects in some formalistic Persian short stories.