Hypertextuality and Transformation in the Rostam and Sohrab episode: A Diachronic Study

Articles in Press

Document Type : Research Paper

Author

PhD in Translation Studies, Department of English Translation Studies, Faculty of Persian Literature and Foreign Languages, Allameh Tabataba'i University, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

This study investigated the hypertextual evolution of the Rostam and Sohrab episode from Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh across five Persian Editions and thirteen English translations spanning 202 years (1811–2013). Drawing on the “hypertextual” relationship from Genette’s theory of transtextuality, the research implemented a new “Micro-Episode” (ME) methodology to quantitatively identify and categorize the various patterns of narrative repetition and transformation. The analysis revealed a distinct paradigm shift in translation norms: The translators in nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries, perhaps seeking to legitimize the epic for Western audiences, adhered to a norm of comprehensive translation, achieving near-total narrative repetition and very few modifications. In contrast, late 20th-century scholarly translators established a new norm of strategic abridgment, systematically tailoring the episode for the modern readership and omitting didactic commentary to enhance the suspense and align with modern “Show, Don’t Tell” aesthetics. Arnold’s 1853 adaptation emerged as a radical outlier with an 80% omission rate. Ultimately, it is argued that the survival of world literature depends on translators’ agency in reshaping the text for evolving cultural contexts.

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Literary Text Research

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 02 May 2026

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