Discourse Analysis Based on the Linguistic Layer (With an Emphasis on the Frequency and Impact of Keywords) in the Epic Section of the Shahnameh with Reference to the Story of Rostam and Esfandiar

Abstract

This study, with a focus on the discourse stylistics of the Shahnameh, examines discourse analysis based on the linguistic layer (with an emphasis on the frequency and impact of keywords) in the epic section of the Shahnameh, with particular reference to the story of Rostam and Esfandiar. The present research is founded on the assumption that the Shahnameh is not merely a literary text, but also a historical-cultural discourse in which values, ideologies, and power relations are represented. The primary objective of the study is to explain the linguistic and narrative mechanisms involved in the production of epic discourse and to reveal the hidden ideologies underlying heroic narratives. The research method is descriptive-analytical and is based on discourse stylistics and textual analysis, in which selected verses have been examined in terms of keywords, sentence types, rhetorical devices, point of view, and narrative oppositions. The findings of the study demonstrate that the examination of the linguistic layer revealed that key terms such as fate, wisdom, religion, God, king, hero, and epic vocabulary were employed not randomly, but consciously and purposefully, each carrying a particular semantic, evaluative, and ideological load. Through the frequency of these lexical items, Ferdowsi constructs a conceptual network in which political power, religious legitimacy, heroic ethics, and human destiny are continuously interacting and confronting one another. Furthermore, the analysis of sentence types, verbs, and narrative tenses indicated that the language of the Shahnameh is not neutral; rather, it is an active and performative language that, through commands, prohibitions, questions, oaths, and imperative verbs, either consolidates or challenges the power relations and social positions of the characters.