Using Poetry-Comics to Change Young Iranians’ Attitudes towards Epic Poetry the ‘Shahnameh’

Abstract

This paper aims to measure the effects of poetry-comics on the attitudes of Iranian 10th graders towards the epic poetry of the Shahnameh. This qualitative research was carried out with a pre-test/post-test design. The sample comprised 31 male and 35 female Iranian teenagers aged 15. Analysis of the data was performed using t-Tests and regression tests to find correlations between variables. Results showed that the attitudes of participants towards the Shahnameh improved significantly after the intervention. It was also found that their attitudes improved significantly towards comics as a preferred means of reading the Shahnameh. Strong correlation was also found between 3 variables in the study, and results showed that being easy-to-read, being more enjoyable, were significantly correlated with the likelihood that students would read the Shahnameh again in their free time. In general, the results indicate that Poetry-comics adaptation of the Shahnameh was significantly effective in reconstructing students’ interest in reading this valued Iranian epic.