Writing Assignment #2 (Shahnameh And Inferno)

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Writing Assignment #2: Shahnameh and Inferno

Various genres of Art and literature are filled with the concept of pain and human suffering. Shahnameh is a literary masterpiece that demonstrates the insightful concept of human suffering and mortality. Written by a famous poet “Abu’s- Qasim Ferdowsi," the center of the poem on the life of the famous kings and their heroic tales along with the historical civilization of the Iranian government. The key pain and suffering conceptualized in the Shahnameh is death ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"MdZie9qy","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Sadeghi)","plainCitation":"(Sadeghi)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":18,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/LGdpQbDd/items/BK7JTZ4D"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/LGdpQbDd/items/BK7JTZ4D"],"itemData":{"id":18,"type":"article-journal","title":"A Comparative Study of the Story of Esfandiar in Ferdowsi's Shahnameh and Achilles in Homer's Iliad","container-title":"Journal of Educational and Social Research","page":"550","volume":"3","issue":"7","source":"www.mcser.org","abstract":"Epic is a kind of descriptive poem which is based on describing heroic and manhood actions and prides of a nation or person so that it includes different symbols of their life.Iliad and Odysses of Homerus, Ramayana and Mehabeharatay of Indians and Shahnameh of Ferdowsi are three great epics of the world.These three epic works are related to Aryan race which has been divided into different branches and everyone has been settled in a land and this is why that there are some common characteristics between them. As epic of every nation is a mirror that shows their culture, nature and endogenous life, these relations and coordination of two Iranian and Greek epics, Shahnameh and Iliad and Odysses show proximity of the two nations in mirror of history. .Shahnameh has been divided into three mythological, heroic and historical parts Iliad and Odysses has been also composed by Homerus, famous Greek poet. Iliad book includes explanation of ten years war between Greece and Troas in 24 chapters and Odysses, which has 24 poems, is about Olis, one of heroes of Troas war and figures his braveries. These two great epics which show two known old culture, can be compared from different characteristics. There are many behavioral likenesses in view of individual, social relationships and acquaintance with different kinds of their natures in addition to structural likenesses. Existence of heroes such as Esfandiyar and Achilles, greedy and chimerical kings such as Keykavoos and Agamemnon, experienced masters such as Piran and Odysses, beautiful and sly women such as Soodabeh and Helen and devotedand portentous teenagers such as Bahram and Patrocelos, all show much likeness of these two epics. As one of important elements of epic texts is heroic element and Esfandiyar and Achilles are two considered heroes in shahnameh and Iliad and their life is similar to each other and both are invulnerable heroes of Iran and Greece who their bravery determined fate of two nations, we decided to introduce story of Esfandiyar and Achilles after defining epic and its elements and introducing Shahnameh of Ferdowsi and Iliad of Homerus and explaining likeness of them and explain likeness and difference between these two story while figuring bravery of this two invulnerable heroes of Iran and Greece. \nDOI: 10.5901/jesr.2013.v3n7p550","ISSN":"2240-0524","language":"en","author":[{"family":"Sadeghi","given":"Masoumeh"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2013",9,30]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Sadeghi). It is shown to be inevitable, and it cannot be negotiated. It even leaves tears in the eyes of those who accept it at their earliest. It is considered to be the permanent suffering in the world, followed by the life where the person is going to reap what he sows. These sufferings are utterly heartbreaking such as the suffering of leaving your loved ones behind and accepting grave as your new home. Leaving your things behind and stepping into the afterlife are the major concerns. The realization that you still have deepest desires embedded in your heart, and you are leaving without achieving them is utterly disturbing. This is the concept that brings tragedy to death ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"65kLX6cu","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Sadeghi)","plainCitation":"(Sadeghi)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":18,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/LGdpQbDd/items/BK7JTZ4D"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/LGdpQbDd/items/BK7JTZ4D"],"itemData":{"id":18,"type":"article-journal","title":"A Comparative Study of the Story of Esfandiar in Ferdowsi's Shahnameh and Achilles in Homer's Iliad","container-title":"Journal of Educational and Social Research","page":"550","volume":"3","issue":"7","source":"www.mcser.org","abstract":"Epic is a kind of descriptive poem which is based on describing heroic and manhood actions and prides of a nation or person so that it includes different symbols of their life.Iliad and Odysses of Homerus, Ramayana and Mehabeharatay of Indians and Shahnameh of Ferdowsi are three great epics of the world.These three epic works are related to Aryan race which has been divided into different branches and everyone has been settled in a land and this is why that there are some common characteristics between them. As epic of every nation is a mirror that shows their culture, nature and endogenous life, these relations and coordination of two Iranian and Greek epics, Shahnameh and Iliad and Odysses show proximity of the two nations in mirror of history. .Shahnameh has been divided into three mythological, heroic and historical parts Iliad and Odysses has been also composed by Homerus, famous Greek poet. Iliad book includes explanation of ten years war between Greece and Troas in 24 chapters and Odysses, which has 24 poems, is about Olis, one of heroes of Troas war and figures his braveries. These two great epics which show two known old culture, can be compared from different characteristics. There are many behavioral likenesses in view of individual, social relationships and acquaintance with different kinds of their natures in addition to structural likenesses. Existence of heroes such as Esfandiyar and Achilles, greedy and chimerical kings such as Keykavoos and Agamemnon, experienced masters such as Piran and Odysses, beautiful and sly women such as Soodabeh and Helen and devotedand portentous teenagers such as Bahram and Patrocelos, all show much likeness of these two epics. As one of important elements of epic texts is heroic element and Esfandiyar and Achilles are two considered heroes in shahnameh and Iliad and their life is similar to each other and both are invulnerable heroes of Iran and Greece who their bravery determined fate of two nations, we decided to introduce story of Esfandiyar and Achilles after defining epic and its elements and introducing Shahnameh of Ferdowsi and Iliad of Homerus and explaining likeness of them and explain likeness and difference between these two story while figuring bravery of this two invulnerable heroes of Iran and Greece. \nDOI: 10.5901/jesr.2013.v3n7p550","ISSN":"2240-0524","language":"en","author":[{"family":"Sadeghi","given":"Masoumeh"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2013",9,30]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Sadeghi). One of the characters that have been shown to be most suffered by this tragedy of death is Rustom. He was a king with a heroic ability but ended up killing his son unconsciously. Although the poet takes the concept of death and suffering as extreme sorrow, he believes that it is, in fact, a part of the human’s life. No one can deny it. In his poem, he criticizes the world that his youth bought him a complete joy, but when he got old, he felt weak and conquerable.

Although death is the inevitable reality of everyone and everything, its amplitude will be different for everyone. Some may suffer that pain in a different way than the other. Poet says that man is trying to hoard the wealth without considering the fact it will be left in this world without him. The only way to deal with this suffering is to accept the reality of it and acknowledge that he will ultimately have to surrender to it.

Another amazing piece of literature that demonstrates the human suffering is Dante's "Inferno." It explains the reasons for human suffering. It depicts that human sufferings are the consequences of choices that are made in life. The universal truth about the human condition is suffering, that is inevitable. One of the characters in a poem is “Capaneus," who suffers from punishment as a consequence of disobedience ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"znQ28swi","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Alighieri)","plainCitation":"(Alighieri)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":21,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/LGdpQbDd/items/HS4BDAZJ"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/LGdpQbDd/items/HS4BDAZJ"],"itemData":{"id":21,"type":"book","title":"The Divine Comedy","publisher":"G. Routledge","number-of-pages":"236","source":"Google Books","language":"en","author":[{"family":"Alighieri","given":"Dante"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["1891"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Alighieri). He was struck down by a Zeus for refusing to believe in a prophecy that he would not conquer the city of Thebes. His anger turns into his punishment as a result of his ignorance. He remained disobedient of Gods and was thrown in the bottom of the hell with other cursers. Throughout the story, Cuperous was believed to show extreme stubbornness and denied his faults. As a result of this stubbornness, he was subjected to ultimate suffering ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"vuZKW6hN","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Alighieri)","plainCitation":"(Alighieri)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":21,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/LGdpQbDd/items/HS4BDAZJ"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/LGdpQbDd/items/HS4BDAZJ"],"itemData":{"id":21,"type":"book","title":"The Divine Comedy","publisher":"G. Routledge","number-of-pages":"236","source":"Google Books","language":"en","author":[{"family":"Alighieri","given":"Dante"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["1891"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Alighieri). Dante portrays suffering not only as a means of further causing more pain to us but also learning experiences as a result of those suffering. When we suffer, we are given an ultimate chance of learning from those misfortunes. It serves as a caution. But if we refuse to acknowledge and accept our mistakes, we ultimately surrender ourselves to the stubbornness. In this way, it turns into a punishment that is depicted in the poem "Inferno."It helps to demonstrate the grief that comes with not accepting our mistakes.

Works Cited

ADDIN ZOTERO_BIBL {"uncited":[],"omitted":[],"custom":[]} CSL_BIBLIOGRAPHY Alighieri, Dante. The Divine Comedy. G. Routledge, 1891.

Sadeghi, Masoumeh. “A Comparative Study of the Story of Esfandiar in Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh and Achilles in Homer’s Iliad.” Journal of Educational and Social Research, vol. 3, no. 7, Sept. 2013, p. 550.