This article investigates the evolution of translator attitudes as expressed in the paratexts to twelve English translations of Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh, published between 1828 and 2013. While this seminal Persian epic has a long history of translation, the strategic role of translators in shaping its reception through paratextual framing has remained understudied. Drawing on Gérard Genette’s Theory of Transtextuality and focusing on the “paratextual” relationship, this study examines how translators use introductions, prefaces, and footnotes to evaluate the source text, its author, and other entities. Methodologically, the study applies Martin and White’s Appraisal Theory (2005), specifically the “attitude” domain and the systems of Judgement and Appreciation, to systematically analyze the evaluative language in the translators’ paratexts. The analysis focuses on four key entities: Ferdowsi, the Shahnameh, previous translators of the Shahnameh, and prior translations of the work. Findings reveal a consistent rhetorical strategy: translators employ reverential praise for Ferdowsi and the epic’s content to legitimize their own translation, while simultaneously expressing strategic criticism of the Shahnameh’s compositional structure and the weaknesses of earlier versions. This criticism serves to justify their own hypertextual choices, such as abridgment and stylistic adaptation. The study concludes that the translator’s paratext is not merely a supplementary apparatus but a crucial site of professional positioning and rhetorical negotiation, where translators actively construct the meaning and value of the text for a new readership.