Abstract
Narrative is the account of an event or a series of events that are connected through a cause-and-effect relationship. One of the greatest theorists of narratology is the French scholar Gérard Genette, whose studies focus not on the story itself but on how it is told. He identifies three levels of the story: the tale, the narrative, and the narrating. To describe and analyze the structure of literary texts, he introduces five concepts: order, duration, frequency, mood, and tone. The authors of this study analyze the story of Zal and Rudabeh from the perspective of Gérard Genette’s narratology, aiming to demonstrate how the sudden shifts in focalization influence the main and secondary agents of the story and how they drive the narrative forward. The result reveals that Genette’s narrative theory applies throughout much of the story; however, in a few instances, the narrative progresses through agents who do not hold a primary or surface-level role, to the point where focalization and final decision-making are based on their perspective.
Keywords: Narrative of Zal and Rudabeh, Narratology ,Gérard Genette, Focalization.
 
Introduction 
Stories are an essential aspect of culture, and in fact, human life has been shaped through storytelling. Ferdowsi has a unique storytelling style, and his tales have immortalized our culture. Analyzing past literary works through the lens of contemporary literary theories and criticism is a means of bridging the gap with such works, which may be at risk of being forgotten, to further uncover their lasting value and mystery. Gérard Genette is one of the most influential theorists in the field of narrative theory, whose focus is not on the story itself, but on how it is told. Genette begins his work by distinguishing between three levels of narrative, which are generally referred to as the story, the narrative, and the narrator. The primary objective of this research is to structurally analyze the three components of voice, time, and perspective (or focalization) in the narrative, and to explain how these components construct meaning according to Genette's theory. This will ultimately familiarize us with the structural mechanisms of the narrative and help identify the narrator, the temporal aspect of the narration, and the level of narration. Furthermore, we will examine the narrative's temporal sequence, duration, frequency, and focalization, ultimately reaching a narratological critique of this work, which is the main goal of this study. Using Genette's model in narrative analysis helps critics understand the structural mechanisms of narratives in detail. If a narrative is a coherent whole in which its components are intricately combined, Genette’s analysis allows us to separate these components and examine their characteristics. With this understanding, we can explain narratively how a story is told, what narrative techniques are used, and their effects on the audience.
Materials & Methods
In this study, the verses of the story of Zal and Rudabeh from Ferdowsi's *Shahnameh* were studied and annotated using a library-based research method. After categorizing the verses into three stages based on voice, time, and perspective, a descriptive-analytical approach was employed to thoroughly examine them from these three viewpoints. The primary narrative techniques used in this text are narration and imitation, two techniques that are often used together. From the perspective of Gérard Genette’s narrative theory, the relationship of the narrator to the story, the temporal gap between the event and the act of narration, and the focalization of the world of the story were analyzed.
 
Discussion and Results
In this narrative, characterized by sudden shifts in focalization, we see the significance of the vocalizers and their roles in changing the course of the narrative, a central aspect of Genette's narrative theory. The priority of the quality of the presence of secondary characters over the quantity of their appearances becomes evident. Secondary characters or agents become the main decision-makers in the story and significantly influence its direction. In parts of the text, their actions lead the narrative in a new direction. The characters in this story engage in conflicts that create new causal situations, each of which becomes the cause of the next event. These occurrences unfold in a chain reaction, with the characters showing various responses to each event.
 
Conclusion
According to the definition of narrative provided, this text indeed has a narrative structure, and the primary mode of storytelling is based on narration and imitation, with minimal presence of the narrator, thus providing maximum information. The story is primarily dialogue-driven, following an episodic structure and narrated in an event-based style. The narrator employs a technique of retrospective reflection to reveal the past of the characters and their stories. The foresight in the form of prophecy, though appearing infrequently, is highly significant, especially as it pertains to the birth of the Iranian hero Rostam and suggests the belief in the influence of stars on human destiny—a belief that has existed from ancient times to the era of the narrator (4th century CE) and even into the present day. The extradiegetic narrator in this story is a third-person omniscient narrator who has full knowledge of everything and narrates the events in an after-the-fact manner without any intervention or bias. In many parts of the story, an intradiegetic narration is used, where the narrator is at the same level as the world of the story and its characters. In some instances, a sub-storytelling method is employed, as seen in the letters exchanged between Sam and Manochehr, and between Zal and Sam. Due to the brevity typical of the narrator's poetic style, many passages are condensed, with some events that took a long time to unfold being summarized quickly without mentioning specific details. The narrator uses a technique of scene-setting, where instead of directly stating the emotions of the characters, a scene is portrayed in detail, allowing the reader to infer the emotions, often through lengthy dialogues. The technique of frequency is used repeatedly through references to Zal's childhood and his growth, as well as the repetition of words such as "advice," "high," "treasure," "wine," "meeting," "sun," "rukhān," "fortune," and "rose" among others.