The Thousand and One Nights

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The Thousand and One Nights

• 14th Century
• Author Anonymous

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Early Background for Nights

• Probably the most widely known literature in the
  Arab world but it is often banned for being
  immoral
• It came from a Middle Eastern people called the
  Sassanids who ruled present day Iran before Islam
  began in 226-652 A.D.
• Probably began as a collection of tales called a
  Thousand Stories translated from Sanskrit
  (classical language from ancient India)

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• In 800-900 A.D., much Persian literature was
  translated into Arabic in Baghdad the Thousand
  Stories that became the core of Nights was among
  them
• Much evidence of the Persian and Indian
  (Sanskrit) origins are evident in the names of
  people and place names in the story (e.g.,
  Shahrazad, Indo-China, etc.)
• Written oral tradition from the translated
  manuscripts spread this literature into the
  Islamic world

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• There are two branches of stories in Nights The
  Syrian branch The Egyptian branch
• Syrian The earliest versions of The Thousand and
  One Nights come from 13th Century Syria and are
  known as the Syrian branch. They are considered
  very conservative because they adhere closely to
  the original versions
• Egyptian More modern versions from the 14th
  Century are known as the Egyptian branch which
  delete some of the original stories and add
  others from Indian, Persian, Turkish, and
  Egyptian sources (Sinbad is an earlier addition
  from the Syrian branch and Aladdin is a later
  addition from the Egyptian branch)

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• The first complete edition of Nights in English
  was put together in 1984.
• Style and Theme of Nights
• Classical Arab literature finds little place for
  Nights in its study, mainly because it is not a
  work of historical fact or moral instruction
• Also, it was not composed in an elegant, poetic
  style, but in regular prosecommon speech

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• Its filled with magical and fantastic stories
  clearly untrue
• It touches on a variety of themes lust, madness,
  violence, justice, retribution (revenge), and
  heroism
• Just because the style isnt poetic doesnt mean
  that the stories arent told well there is an
  artistry evident in Nights that can be explained
  by imagining a fabulous storyteller telling you
  about a magical world full of luxurious settings,
  fantastic adventures, and much more

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• Your selection is mainly concerned with the
  framing story this is embodied in the Prologue
  and then the tales (the various nights)
• Nights prologue does not frame all of the tales
  it includes rather, the prologue has a single
  narrator (not several), and while the tales
  (nights) that follow may talk about several
  different people, they are all ultimately
  recounted by Shahrazad.
• Shahrazad, a woman, is the hero of this story