Dr. Karim Loweimi Mutlaq, Farshad Seddiqi Nia & Pari Hayati
Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Iran
The present article compares the representation of “Evil” in the heroic periods of Iran and England by analyzing the two epic poems of Shahnameh and Beowulf which reflect the traditions, customs, attitudes, and beliefs of the people before their conversion to Abrahamic religions. In both poems “Evil” is related to the creatures that threaten the people’s lives and their country. In Beowulf, evil concerns “non-human” beings; there are no human beings as their fellowmen’s enemies; no human tries to harm his fellow beings; and we deal with “absolute” good or evil. In Shahnameh, on the other hand, in addition to “non-human Evil” we can witness “human Evil” as well. Not only evil can be “human,” but also human beings turn to each other’s enemies and try to harm or destroy one another, even their countrymen. So, in Shahnameh, the concept of “Evil” is more complicated than its absolute counterpart in Beowulf. Beowulf is the result of Germanic heroic traditions, while Shahnameh is a product of Persian epic culture. Although like Beowulf, Shahnameh represents the heroic period of a country, Iran’s historical background and its precedence of religious beliefs have led to a more complex, multi-dimensional, and human representation of evil.
The above abstract is a part of the article which was accepted at The Second International Conference on Current Issues of Languages, Dialects and Linguistics (WWW.TLLL.IR), 1-2 February 2018, Ahwaz.
