The Comparative Study of the Element of Plot in Ancient and Modern Stories from Iran and the Whole World

Subject Areas : شعر

Mansureh Sharif Zadeh ¹ (Faculty Member, Research Institute for Humanities)

Received: 2012-09-19 Accepted : 2012-09-19 Published : 2009-12-01

Keywords: story, novel, comparison, داستان, طرح, رمان, تطبیق, پیشگویی, plot,

Abstract :

One of the most important elements of the stories is plot. Plot is in fact a pattern for connecting the events of the story based on some causal relationship. Stories before the 18th century in Europe and before constitutional revolution in Iran were written based on simple plots and they were very different from today’s stories. Since plot originates from the nature of the characters, the reader needs intelligence and memory to understand it. The most obvious difference between ancient and modern stories is in fact plot; since the plot of ancient stories was based on simple and superficial causes while modern stories have plots based on complicated events resulting in challenges. The present article attempts to compare the element of plot in ancient Iranian stories (Khosrow and Shirin) and ancient European stories (Iliad & Odyssey) with modern Iranian stories (Tangsir) and contemporary European stories (War & Peace) to observe their points of similarity and differentiation.