Shahnameh Critical Essay | Critical Essay by James Atkinson

Critical Essay by James Atkinson

SOURCE: A preface to Suhrāb and Rustam: A Poem from the “Shāh Nāmah” of Firdausī. 1814. Reprint. Scholars' Facsimiles and Reprints, 1972, pp. l-xxv.

In the following essay, Atkinson prefaces the translation of the Suhrāb story from the Shah-Nama with a biographical sketch of Ferdowsi and a general overview of the poem. Atkinson praises the poet's descriptions and his flowing verse.

The Shahnamu, from which the Poem of Soohrab is taken, comprises the history and achievements of the ancient Kings of Persia from Kuyomoors, down to the invasion and conquest of that empire by the Saracens, during the reign of Yuzdjird, in 636. It is replete with heroic and chivalrous adventures, which are written with great strength of genius and fervor of imagination. Of Abool Qasim Firdousee, the author of this celebrated work, little is satisfactorily known. He was born at Toos, a city of Khorasan, about the year 950....
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