Firdawsi in the Shah-nama skillfully employs foreshadowing to create suspense, emphasize the tragedy, and portray the mood. Foreshadowing is very important and change the way a story is read. Firdawsi did a great good of foreshadowing when he wrote the Shah-nama. The Shah-nama is a tragedy that tells the story of Rustam and Suhrab. Rustam is a mighty leader who unknowingly kills his son Suhrab. Creating suspense in any story is very important to keep a reader entertained and actively reading the story. One way this can be done is by foreshadowing. In the Shah-nama, Firdawsi, the author uses foreshadowing to create suspense. “Let us dismiss such fancies from our hearts, for he will come to fight with me tomorrow.(4) This creates suspense because Suhrab is expecting another battle tomorrow. One can be lead to believe that the fight will be epic battle. One can also be lead to believe that Rustam will find out the truth. In conclusion this is how Firdawsi used foreshadowing to create suspense. A tragedy will often be the topic of a poem. Firdawsi used foreshadowing to emphasize the tragedy in the Shah-nama. “My mother told me I should recognize my father”(5). This is where Rustam figures out he might have a connection to Suhrab. The reader can also predict that the truth will come out and Suhrab will provide proof that he is Rustam’s seed. This also emphasizes how tragic the kill of one’s child can be. As you can see foreshadowing is important in a story especially when emphasizing the tragedy. Portraying the mood to a reader is very important. When the reader picks up the mood, especially through foreshadowing it can make a reader more interested and likely to continue reading. Firdawsi did an exceptional job at using foreshadowing to portray the mood in the Shah-nama. Suhrab states, “Undo my breastplate, view my body bare, see how sires treat sons”(6). Reading this one can assume that Rustam will find the gem that Suhrab’s mother gave him. The phrase”see how sires treat sons” is used to sadden the mood because Suhrab has been killed. In conclusion, portraying the mood in the use of foreshadowing is very important. In the Shah-nama Firdawsi skillfully employed foreshadowing to create suspense, emphasize the mood, and portray the mood. These are very important to the reader. Foreshadowing can truly help the reader understand the story and keep them interested in the story. This why and how Firdawsi used foreshadowing in the Shah-nama.