The Analysis of Transtextual Relationship between the Russian Tale of Yeruslan Lazarevich and the Shahnameh
Subject Areas : epic
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Abstract :
Russian literature, as a part of world literature, has long been influenced by Eastern literature, particularly classical Persian literature. One of the monumental works of Persian literature that, according to many scholars, has influenced the formation of certain Russian epic tales and stories is the Iranian national epic, the Shahnameh by Hakim Abul-Qasim Ferdowsi. Among these works is the Russian tale of Yeruslan Lazarevich, which has roots in Russian folklore and ancient epic literature. In this research, we aim to critically analyze the intertextual relationships between the mentioned tale and the Shahnameh using Gérard Genette's theory of transtextuality through a comparative and qualitative content analysis method, employing library and documentary study methods for data collection. The research findings indicate that two types of transtextuality, intertextuality and hypertextuality, were not examinable in this study. However, the examination of paratextual, metatextual, and architextual relationships supports our claim of the Russian tale’s derivation from the Shahnameh. Paratextual examples include the name of the work, manuscripts, lubok artworks, books, and articles related to this Russian tale. Additionally, the epic features and characteristics of this tale are instances of metatextual relationships. Regarding hypertextuality, the Russian tale exhibits transformations such as prose adaptation, quantitative reduction transformations in the form of cutting, and quantitative expansion transformations in the form of amplification. Despite the presence of some potential pretexts among ancient Eastern works, the Shahnameh can be considered the primary pretext for the tale of Yeruslan Lazarevich.