1. One Thousand and One Nights
ENG 273: World Literature

2. Origin Earliest collection of stories dates to the 9th Century
Variety of origins – Middle East, Africa, India, Asia
Many Folktales
Influential in Arabic and Islamic Literature
First English Translation in 1706
Later Western translators add tales
“Alladdn and his Wonderful Lamp”
“Ali Babba and the Forty Thieves”
“Seven Voyages of Sinbad”
Different versions with different numbers of tales included

3. Frame Story King Shahrayar Shahrazad
Executes unfaithful wife
Marries one woman every night and has her executed in the morning
Shahrazad
Daughter of the Vizier
Well-educated and intelligent
Plans to end the executions
Marry the king
Tell him a story every night that continues the next day
Her execution is delayed because he wants to know the outcome of the story
Through the stories she tells each night, Shahrazad educates the King about wisdom, mercy, justice, and love

4. The Tales Stories told by the Vizier to dissuade Shahrazad
Tale of the Ox and Donkey
Tale of the Merchant and his Wife
Stories told by Shahrazad to King Shahrayar
Tale of the Porter and the Young Girls
Tale of Zubaidah, the First of the Girls
Tale of Sympathy the Learned
An Adventure of the Poet Abu Nawas
The End of Jafar and the Barmakids

5. Key Themes Islam and Muslim Culture Mercy versus Tyranny
Qu’ran
Mercy versus Tyranny
Just Punishment versus Unfair Persecution
Love versus Lust
Wisdom versus Foolishness