A Creative Narrative of a Classic Text: A Review of a Rewriting of the Story “Bijan and Manijeh”

A Creative Narrative of a Classic Text: A Review of a Rewriting of the Story “Bijan and Manijeh”
 
 
Sajad Najafi Behzadi
Assistant Professor of Persian Language and Literature, Shahrekord University, Iran
 
 
Introduction
Literary and artistic works are created in various ways. Some works are literary creations of the mindsets and worldviews of their authors (direct creation) and some works are inspired by works of the past or the contemporary writers. This is called recreation, in which the poet, after being inspired by the work of others, undertakes a new creation that is different from the previous work and only shows traces of the previous work. But there is a third method in which the poet or the writer receives the content and purpose of the classic work and then rewrites it. Rewriting is defined as the simplification of the language and the creation of a new structure in the old texts so that their contents and themes are preserved. One of the important purposes of rewriting ancient texts is to acquaint children and adolescents with the valuable texts and cultural elements and figures of the past. Another purpose of rewriting is to make the audience enjoy the themes and meanings of the classic texts.
Stories of Ferdowsi’s epic, Shahnameh, have a lot of narrative potentials for children and adolescents. The story of “Bijan and Manijeh” is saturated with themes of loyalty, courage, self-sacrifice and love. It is very important to rewrite this story creatively in order to educate children and adolescents on the significance of love and loyalty.
 
Methodology and Review of Literature
In this study, Atousa Salehi’s rewriting of the story of “Bijan and Manijeh” from Shahnameh is analyzed based on creative rewriting patterns. The researcher uses the qualitative content analysis method in which data and tests are analyzed in order to discover their meanings. Data is gathered by the use of library research.
Various researches have been conducted on the analysis of classic texts based on the principles and elements of the story; however, the researcher did not find any research on the creative rewriting patterns of the story of “Bijan and Manijeh”.
 
Discussion
The purpose of this study is to investigate and analyze Atosa Salehi’s rewriting of the story of “Bijan and Manijeh”. Accordingly, the most important techniques and creative aspects of rewriting of the classic text of “Bijan and Manijeh” were examined and analyzed. Some important elements that are used in creative rewriting are as follows:
Changing and relocating fixed elements of the ancient text: The audience has a fixed schema about the pre-text but the recreated text alters that schema; as a result, the audience struggles again to find a new meaning and the text becomes enjoyable. Therefore, the transformation of the fixed schemas and the defamiliarization of the ancient text can be considered as important factors in the audience's enjoyment.
Creativity at the beginning and the end of the story (increasing suspense): The beginning and the end of the story play important roles in attracting children and adolescents. Rewriters can enhance the reader's sense of suspense by creating a new structure in the narrative and the beginning of the story.
Representation of the characters’ mentality: One of the best methods of characterization which can be used for creative rewriting is the representation of the mentality of the characters in the story. It is one of the most complex types of characterizations which helps the reader enter the character's mind and have the opportunity to access the innermost thoughts and mental states of the characters in the story.
Creating new spaces within the text: A free and creative rewriting can benefit from the creation of new fictional spaces in the text. These spaces can be opened up through the creation of intellectual conflicts, conversations and internal monologues of the characters of the story. The author rewrites the structure of the story to produce a creative rewriting.
The reader's participation in the story (writing): One of the most effective methods for attracting the reader's participation in the story is the creation of speech gaps. Speech gaps are the blank spaces in the text that, according to Chambers, every skilled writer tries to leave in his work in order to invite the reader to participate in the construction of meaning and even creativity.
 
Conclusion
Considering the characteristics of Shahnameh and its grandiose and epic atmosphere and tone, Atousa Salehi's rewritten narrative can be considered as successful in conveying the tone and atmosphere of the classic text by the use of epic diction and the form of epic verses. The readers are invited to participate in the creation of the story. Ambiguity in linguistic cues, close ending and proper beginning of the story are some the techniques used in the rewriting. The representation of the characters’ mental states provides valuable information about their personalities for the adolescent audience, an audience that does not know much about these mythical figures. The author of the rewritten narrative is highly successful in conveying the characters’ thoughts, ideas, wishes, fears and joys to the audience through the representation of the characters’ mentalities. Items such as changing the fixed elements of the text, representing the characters’ mentalities, creating a new structure and narrative space through conflict and dialogue, employing the technique of speed reading and highlighting the theme by indirect presentation are some of the most important creative rewriting techniques used by the author.
 
Keywords: Atoosa Salehi, Rewriting, Bijan and Manijeh, Shahnameh, creative rewriting
 
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