Firdausi Tousi, a Persian Poet
CONTEXT A. BACKGROUND ON THE AUTHOR
Firdausi Tousi, (935–1020) is considered to be one of the greatest Persian poets to have ever lived. Among the national heroes and literary greats of all time, Firdausi has a very special place. His life-long endeavor, dedication and personal sacrifices to preserve the national identity, language and heritage of his homeland put him in great hardship during his lifetime, but won him fame and honor for one of the greatest poetic masterpieces of all time: the Shahnameh.
Firdausi was born in the province of Tus, some 12 miles northeast of present-day Meshed. A land that had been controlled by the Islamic religion and the Arabs for about 300 years. It was with the writing of the Shahnameh (Book of Kings) by Firdausi that Persian literary influence began to grow in a nonpolitical way in the Arab world. Firdausi was just the pen name of the poet, his personal name and that of his father, according to al-Bundari, was ‘Mansur ben Hasan’. Firdausi 's family was rich enough to be independent. That made him able to study philosophy, astronomy, poetry, and astrology. He was happily married to an educated musician who bore him a son, who died at the age of 37, and a daughter, who survived him.
Firdausi began to write his masterpiece, the Shahnameh, at about the age of 40. His main motive in undertaking this great task was to revive the glory of ancient Iran. That is why Ferdausi used only Persian in his masterpiece. As Firdausi himself says "Persian language is revived by this work".
B. BACKGROUND ON THE TEXT
The Shahnameh is structured according to the mythical and historical reign of 50 Persian Kings. The epic can be roughly divided into three parts: the first part tells of the mythical creation of Persia and its earliest mythical past; the second part tells of the legendary Kings and the heroes Rostam and Sohrab which compromises most of the epic poem; the third part blends historical fact with legend, telling of the
Firdausi Tousi, (935–1020) is considered to be one of the greatest Persian poets to have ever lived. Among the national heroes and literary greats of all time, Firdausi has a very special place. His life-long endeavor, dedication and personal sacrifices to preserve the national identity, language and heritage of his homeland put him in great hardship during his lifetime, but won him fame and honor for one of the greatest poetic masterpieces of all time: the Shahnameh.
Firdausi was born in the province of Tus, some 12 miles northeast of present-day Meshed. A land that had been controlled by the Islamic religion and the Arabs for about 300 years. It was with the writing of the Shahnameh (Book of Kings) by Firdausi that Persian literary influence began to grow in a nonpolitical way in the Arab world. Firdausi was just the pen name of the poet, his personal name and that of his father, according to al-Bundari, was ‘Mansur ben Hasan’. Firdausi 's family was rich enough to be independent. That made him able to study philosophy, astronomy, poetry, and astrology. He was happily married to an educated musician who bore him a son, who died at the age of 37, and a daughter, who survived him.
Firdausi began to write his masterpiece, the Shahnameh, at about the age of 40. His main motive in undertaking this great task was to revive the glory of ancient Iran. That is why Ferdausi used only Persian in his masterpiece. As Firdausi himself says "Persian language is revived by this work".
B. BACKGROUND ON THE TEXT
The Shahnameh is structured according to the mythical and historical reign of 50 Persian Kings. The epic can be roughly divided into three parts: the first part tells of the mythical creation of Persia and its earliest mythical past; the second part tells of the legendary Kings and the heroes Rostam and Sohrab which compromises most of the epic poem; the third part blends historical fact with legend, telling of the
References: http://shahnameh.eu/ferdowsi.html http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Firdausi.aspx http://books.google.com.ph/books/about/Shahnama.html?id=10xkB4rLRAUC&redir_esc=y http://www.medialeft.net/main/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1846:ferdowsi-the-reviver-of-persian-language&catid=145:kourosh-ziabari&Itemid=269 http://www.bl.uk/learning/cult/inside/corner/shah/synopsis.html