SOURCE: “The Imperial Epic of Iran: A Literary Approach,” in Iranian Civilization and Culture, edited by Charles J. Adams, McGill University, 1972, pp. 133-44.

In the essay that follows, Wickens examines the portion of the Shah-Nama dedicated to the Sasanid period of Iran's history, offering a synopsis of this section and emphasizing its dramatic form and themes.

Many of the ideas presented here have undoubtedly been maturing in my mind since I was first compelled, some thirty-four years ago, to read a portion of the Shāh-nāmah not for its own splendid sake but as a tool on which to practice my elementary grasp of the Persian language. They are thus very personal ideas, very much a part of my life; but they have been sharpened and brought to the point of public utterance as the result of several recent discussions on literary and related matters with my...