King Lear and “Fereydoun and his Sons”, Hamlet and “Kay Khosrow” in the Mirror of the Anxieties of the Other

Introduction:  In the power structure, the ideological anxiety of the subversive forces is such that its owners do their best to subdue the subversive forces and destroy their legitimacy in the power scene. As much as the ideology reproduces itself at every moment, the subversive forces are also mocked to make their seizure of power appear illegitimate. Subversive forces are depicted in a situation where they are unable to maintain the power and the order of affairs, and the only solution is to destroy them and restore the previous order of affairs. One of the benefits of literary works is that they are cultural narratives to show the conflict of power, whose representation reaches its peak in epic and tragic genres. The stories of King Lear and “Fereydoun and his Sons”, Hamlet and “Kay Khosrow” are good grounds for comparative analysis of the tension in power and subversion. Demonstrating them and their resolutions often prevents their occurrence in reality.
Background of the Study: Gender, race and social class are the subject of studies that have examined the plays from 'the other' point of view. For example, numerous studies have been conducted on Shakespeare's works for gender and race (Callaghan, 2000), the status of women (Kemp, 2010), ideology and 'the other' (Henderson, 2008; Hawkes, 1996; Drakaki, 1985), etc. Of course, they lack a comparative view. Similar studies have been done about the Shahnameh, but they also do not have a comparative view. Recently, attention has been directed towards doing comparative studies between Shakespeare's and Ferdowsi's works, especially the tragic parts. Despite the tragedy-oriented and comparative studies, the place of Marxist studies seems to be few among the articles. Among this collection of articles, a comparative research with the view of cultural materialists on works was not observed. Therefore, the present research, while benefiting from the results of the articles, adds a new chapter to them.
Methodology: Cultural materialism along with the comparative method compares the ideological anxieties in the power structure. Narratives in cultural materialism are a part of the cultural history of nations and intertwined with other literary and non-literary narratives. In this approach, as much as it is possible to reconstruct and recognize the facts related to the narratives, it is also possible to change and observe the changes made. For example, the status of 'the other' in race, gender and social class shows how the culture of 'the other' and 'the same' have changed since the writing of the work. On the one hand, cultural materialism examines challenges and faults and shows that power is not unified and is always subject to threats. These threats force the power to use any means, ideological (ISA) or repressive (RSA) for its survival and legitimacy. On the other hand, it goes beyond the current level of consciousness. 
Conclusion: This research shows that the power uses every mechanism and deceitful trick to maintain its survival. The evidences in the selected works show how subcultures and Others existed in the power structure. While writing and protecting the myths and cultures of their time, both of Shakespeare and Ferdowsi displayed the differences, gaps and the possibility of change in the opportunities they encountered. The evidence of this comparative analysis shows that there is a significant similarity between the components of ideological anxieties in these tragic works, which connects the literature of the East with the literature of the West.