Thousand And One Nights

Thousand and One Nights is a beautiful collection of stories from Asia and North Africa. The stories give the history of these places as they have their roots tracing to different periods in these regions. The oldest times captured in these parts and spread throughout these areas include Persian, Indian, Medieval Arabic, Egyptian folklore, and Mesopotamia. Most of the stories featured in the collection are translations from different languages while others are from various scholars and authors. Most of the stories are based on the Indian elements, and the rest are based on folk tales that originated in the Caliphate era. Throughout the various editions, stories are framed around Shahryar, the king, and his wife, Scheherazade. This has been incorporated virtually in all the stories. The stories, however, begin and end in their unique ways. Most of them, however, have hundreds of nights in the story line. Others have 1001 nights or more. Most of the stories are in prose. However, to heighten emotions, some stories have songs and riddles that are organized in verses. Many of the stories in the collection were mainly associated with nights except for the Arabic versions that were added to the collection by European translators.

Literary themes and techniques

The collection was a great work of creativity. It has very innovative literary techniques which are used in the story to enhance suspense, drama, and other emotions. The most evident throughout the book and in most of the stories is embedded narrative. This is where the storyteller brings in other stories in the mid of a story. The Sultan gives stories to the King for many nights. The narrator tells the stories that are told by unknown authors. You will find three stories being narrated in one story. An example is the “The Fishermen and the Jinni.” the other technique that is used in the collection is dramatic visualization. The narrator tries to create a vivid picture in the mind of the reader. “The Three Apples” is an example in the collection that uses this technique.

In the world Culture

There is vast world’s literature in the collection. The collection has stories from virtually all parts of the world. This makes it a book that incorporates the global culture. However, its origin is in Asia, and the Arabic culture is the most evident in the collection. Various culture in the collection went ahead to become cultural icons.