The Arabian Nights: The Art of Storytelling

T H E A R T O F S T O R Y T E L L I N G

T H E A R A B I A N N I G H T S

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Why do we tell stories?

– J O A N D I D E O N

“We tell ourselves stories in order to live.”

The region where The Thousand and One Nights originated as oral tales

F R O M O R A L T O W R I T T E N

• Persian Indian Folktales (oral stories for 600 years)

• Moved to Baghdad where they were written down

• Copyists recorded the tales; translators added their own touches and stories

• French translation and then English translation

A D A P TAT I O N & T R A N S L AT I O NS T O R I E S W E R E R E V I S E D , C O M B I N E D , E D I T E D , & R E M I X E D

B E C A M E M O R E O F A E U R O P E A N T E X T

– E D W A R D S A I D ( F R O M O R I E N TA L I S M )

“The Orient was almost a European invention, and had been since antiquity a place of romance, exotic beings, haunting

memories and landscapes, remarkable experiences.”

Frame story: a literary technique used to contain an embedded narrative, a story within a story

Embedded StoriesStories within Stories

Frame Narrative: “The Story of King Shahrayar and Shahrazad”

Demon with Glass Chest (woman is locked away after wedding night)

"Tale of the Ox and the Donkey" "The Story of the Merchant and His Wife"

"The Story of the Merchant and the Demon"

"The First Old Man's Tale"

"The Story of the Fisherman and the Demon"

"The Tale of King Yunan and the Sage Duban"

Shahrazad

Shahrazad’s Father

"The Second Old Man's Tale"

"The Third Old Man's Tale" (implied)

S H A H R A Z A D ; A L S O K N O W N A S S C H E H E R A Z A D E

– Description of Shahrazad, pg. 13, The Arabian Nights

The older daughter, Shahrazad, had read the books of literature, philosophy, and medicine. She knew the poetry by heart, had studied historical reports, and was acquainted with the sayings of men and the maxims of sages and kings. She was

intelligent, knowledgeable, wise, and refined. She had read and learned.

But morning overtook Shahrazad, and she lapsed into silence, leaving King Shahrayar burning with curiosity to hear the rest of the story. Then Dinarzad said to her sister Shahrazad, “What a strange and lovely story!” Shahrazad replied, “What is this compared with what I shall tell you tomorrow night if the king spares me and lets me live? It will be even better and more entertaining.” The king thought to himself, “I will spare her until I hear the rest of the story; then I will have her put to death the next day.”

PA G E 2 3 , T H E A R A B I A N N I G H T S

When morning broke, the day dawned, and the sun rose; the king left to attend to the affairs of the kingdom, and the vizier, Shahrazad’s father, was amazed and delighted.” King Shahrayar governed all day and returned home at night to his quarters and got into bed with Shahrazad. Then Dinarzad said to her sister Shahrazad, “Please, sister, if you are not sleepy, tell us one of your lovely little tales to while away the night.” The king added, “Let it be the conclusion of the story of the demon and the merchant, for I would like to hear it.” Shahrazad replied, “With the greatest pleasure, dear, happy King.”

PA G E 2 3 ( C O N T I N U E D ) , T H E A R A B I A N N I G H T S

Suspense

Seduction

Deferral

Death

InterruptionDesire

SpaceTime

T H E A R T O F S T O R Y T E L L I N G

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