The Narrative Structure of Amiran-Darejaniani in Light of Vladimir Propp’s Morphology of the Folktale

Abstract

This article examines one of the most significant works of Georgian secular literature from the Classical Age, Amiran-Darejaniani (attributed to Mose Khoneli), through the lens of Vladimir Propp’s 1928 research titled Morphology of the Folktale.
According to the established opinion, Amiran-Darejaniani is regarded as a collection of individual stories centered around the main character of the story, Amiran Darejanidze. Using Propp’s structural framework, this article aims to prove the compositional unity of Amiran-Darejaniani.
Propp’s work is dedicated to researching the poetics and internal structure of magical folktales. This article applies his methodology to the composition of Amiran-Darejaniani, examining how the individual stories merge, and analyzing the functions of the protagonists. However, since Amiran-Darejaniani is not a folktale but a literary work, the article also touches upon the peculiarities of this literary text in comparison to a folk narrative.