The Thousand and One Nights

A Brief Background to Islamic Literature
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Early 7th century: Muhammad
received revelations
Teachings compiled in Koran
Tribes of Arabia united under
Islam
Arabia conquers Persian and
Byzantine empires

Empire is ruled by caliphs
◦ Initially, caliph had both political
and spiritual authority of the
people
◦ Dispute later arises:
 Should the caliph come from the
bloodline of Muhammad?
(shi’ites)
 Should the caliph come from the
clan of Muhammad? (sunnis)

Islamic civilization is a synthesis
of:
◦ Religion and culture of Arabia
◦ Imperial traditions of eastern
Mediterranean
◦ Traditions of the Persian empire

Baghdad founded in mid-8th
century
◦ Cosmopolitan center of art and
learning
•
Pre-Islam,
was language of a great
but little-known poetry
• Orally composed & performed
• 2 forms: qit’a & qasida
•
Islamic poets changed early style.
• Adab emphasized elegance, decorum, &
learning
• “gatemen to keep the rabble out
•
Koran does not tolerate fiction (“lying”)
• Prose narratives=didactic
•
9th century:
Arabic
poetry expands on
• New forms: ruba’i, ghazal, masnavi
•
11th century: Islamic lit in
Written anonymously
 Most widely-known piece Arabic
literature
 Not recognized by Arabic scholars
as a serious work of literature
(still occasionally banned as
immoral)

◦ Cannot fit The Thousand and One
Nights into any literary canon:
history, useful knowledge, moral
instruction, poetry
Filled with magical and fantastical
stories written in prose
 History is vague

◦ May have begun as a collection of Middle
Persian tales that were translated from
the Sanskrit (226-652)
◦ During the 9th and 10th centuries much
Persian literature was translated into
Arabic
◦ Translators added local tales (which
explains why some tales are Perso-Indian
and others are set in Baghdad in the 8th
century)
◦ Written and oral versions of the tales
have been passed on simultaneously
◦ Written Manuscript
 Two branches of development: conservative and Egyptian
follows original manuscript closely in substance,
form, and style
deletes original stories and add others from India,
Persia, Turkey, and Egypt
◦ The Story of Sinbad
◦ Aladdin and the Magic Lamp
◦ First European translation of the Egyptian branch was in the 17th
century by French scholar and traveler, Jean Antoine Galland
◦ Sir Richard Burton translated the stories into English in the 18th
century
◦ First scholarly translation, based on the 14th century Syrian
manuscript (the basis of the conservative branch), was in 1984
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This story is a frame tale
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Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales
Boccaccio’s Decameron
The Princess Bride
The Never-Ending Story
Frame story:
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Shahrayar
Shahrazad
Stories to live by… literally
Formulaic exchange between Shahrazad,
Shahrayar, and Dinarzadrepeated
mornings & evenings
Tales:
◦ Although Shahrayar tells the stories, the
stories still have a distinct narrator
◦ Serve to cure Shahrayar’s madness
◦ Original stories fall in series (we’ll read 2
series of stories)
1
1st Old Man’s Story
2
2nd Old Man’s Story
3
3rd Old Man’s Story
4
Story of Black Islands
5
Story of Enchanted Prince
6
Story of Fisherman &
Demon
7
Story of Husband & Parrot
8
Story of King Yunan &
Sage Duban
9
Story of King’s Son & SheGhoul
10
Story of Merchant &
Demon
11
Story of Merchant & His
Wife
12
Story of Ox & Donkey
13
Story of Shahrayar &
Shahrazad
1
1st Old Man’s Story
2
2nd Old Man’s Story
3
3rd Old Man’s Story
4
Story of Black Islands
5
Story of Enchanted Prince
6
Story of Fisherman &
Demon
7
Story of Husband & Parrot
8
Story of King Yunan &
Sage Duban
9
Story of King’s Son & SheGhoul
10
Story of Merchant &
Demon
11
Story of Merchant & His
Wife
12
Story of Ox & Donkey
13
Story of Shahrayar &
Shahrazad
1
1st Old Man’s Story
2
2nd Old Man’s Story
3
3rd Old Man’s Story
4
Story of Black Islands
5
Story of Enchanted Prince
6
Story of Fisherman &
Demon
7
Story of Husband & Parrot
8
Story of King Yunan &
Sage Duban
9
Story of King’s Son & SheGhoul
10
Story of Merchant &
Demon
11
Story of Merchant & His
Wife
12
Story of Ox & Donkey
13
Story of Shahrayar &
Shahrazad
The Story of
Shahrayar &
Shahrazad
Purpose: Prove
to Shahrazad
why she should
not marry
Shahrayar.
Vizier’s Stories
The Merchant
& the Demon
The Ox & the
Donkey
The Merchant
& His Wife
Purpose: Show that it is
a bad idea to interfere
in other’s business.
Purpose: Demonstrate
that men must keep
“their” women in line.
The
Fisherman &
the Demon
Purpose: Entertain
Shahrayar & buy Shahrazad
time.
The Merchant
& the Demon
1st Old Man’s
Story
Purpose: Show that a
wife’s treachery will
not go unpunished.
2nd Old Man’s
Story
3rd Old Man’s
Story
Purpose: Show that a
brother’s treachery will
not go unpunished.
Purpose: Show that a
wife’s treachery will
not go unpunished.
Purpose: Save the Merchant’s life by
earning 1/3 of it w/ their own stories.
Fisherman &
Demon
Purpose: Prove to
Demon that God deals
with you as you deal
w/ others.
Story of Yunan
& Duban
Husband &
Parrot
King’s Son &
She-Ghoul
Purpose: Demonstrate
to Vizier that listening
to bad advice leads to
guilt & rash behavior.
Purpose: Show King
that vizier’s are often
undeservedly blamed
for treachery.
Purpose: Entertain
Shahrayar & buy
Shayhrazad time.
Purpose: ???
Black Isles
Enchanted
King
Purpose: Explain to
King the origin of the
colorful fish & hidden
lake.