Aladdin is among the tales featured in 'The Thousand and One Nights', though it was added into the collection later in the 18th century by European translators. Getty Images. The timeless tales told by Scheherazade to the ruler Shahryar are well known not only in the Middle East, but around the world.
But now, Richard Van Leeuwen, a senior lecturer in Islamic Studies at the University of Amsterdam, says the influence of the many stories is more far-reaching than previously thought. In his book, The Thousand and One Nights and Twentieth-Century Fiction: Intertextual Readings — which last month won the Sheikh Zayed Book Award for Arabic Culture in Other Languages — the Dutch author explores how the collection of Middle Eastern folk tales have had a decisive influence on the shaping of world literature over the past century.
So what was it about the collection that captured the imagination of 20th-century writers such as Marcel Proust and Toni Morrison? For a start, says Van Leeuwen in his book, writers such as French author Michel Butor and German author Hugo von Hofmannsthal seemed to have been particularly inspired by the stories' locations. Night after night, Scheherazade told another story, reaching the middle at dawn and entranced by her stories, the king kept her with him, and 1, nights passed.
On night 1,, when Scheherazade has no more stories, the king was in love with her, and thanks to her tales, he had become a wiser man, versed in the tales of this world. Finally, he made Scheherazade his queen, and justice and kindness reigned once again. Thousand and one nights is greatly influenced by Islamic heritage and culture. Is Arabian Nights worth reading? What age is Arabian Nights for? Who translated Arabian Nights into English? What is the plot of Arabian Nights? Who compiled a Thousand and One Arabian Nights?
How long is Arabian Nights? Are Arabian Nights real? What is the main theme of Nights? What happens at the end of Arabian Nights? Why does shahrayar kill his first wife? What is the ending of Arabian Nights? What is the theme of Arabian Nights? What is the meaning of Scheherazade? In the same vein, Charles Dickens for example is no different from many other nineteenth century English writers who were influenced by the Arabian Nights.
Serve him right. I am glad to it. What business had he to be married to the Princes! I am in Damascus or Grand Cairo. The Marchioness is a Genie and having a had a wager with another Genie about who is the handsomest young man alive It is clear therefore that the influence of the Arabian Nights on Western literature is significant and countless examples can be found across all forms of the literary tradition over time.
It can be argued that the Arabian Nights played a significant role in influencing the Orientalist movement in all of Europe. England was largely influenced by travelers and writers that were exposed to or interested in the Arab world. Edward Said in his essay ' The discourse of the Orient ' states that:.
Similarly, Rana Kabbani, a contemporary researcher of Orientalism says that:. Among the many themes that emerge from the European narration of the Other, two appear most strikingly.
The first is the insistent claim that the East was a place of lascivious sensuality, and the second that it was a realm characterised by inherent violence". A study of the Arabian Nights and many of the themes in some of the most popular stories show the truth and rationale behind her claim. The theme of sexuality and violence are very significant in the collection.
Representations of these regions and cultures are prevalent in literary works as well as travel accounts and scholarly works in history, science etc. Edward Said is of the view that oriental tales and orientalist scholarship, particularly the reception and popularity of the Arabian Nights says more about Britain—its ideal self-definitions, its anxieties, its assumptions about world and cosmic order—than about "the Orient. French Modernist Henri Matisse is best known for is experimentation with perspectives, color and figuration.
One of the most famous and appreciated pieces the artist created during his last few years when he was confined to his bed is an abstract take on the Arabia Nights. The piece is a 4. Matisse's "The Thousand and One Nights" is divided into five panels. The first panel shows a lantern with smoke seeping out of its spout and is interpreted as denoting dusk.
The second panel is considered perhaps a reference to Shahrazad herself. Nighttime is suggested through stars, and a second lantern that is black and without smoke denotes the approaching dawn.
The final panel has been read as the rising sun but also as a reference to Shahrazad's sexuality. The text translates to: " Matisse's modern interpretation of the Arabian Nights is interesting for several reasons. Firstly, Matisse's illness meant that his life was similar to Shahrazad's: he would stay up all night because his illness meant that he was in so much pain that it was difficult to fall asleep. He would use his creativity to create art at night as a way of staving off death.
In the same way, Shahrazad's stories that she would tell the king every night were her way of escaping death through her use of her artistic creativity. Additionally, his use of color and images in the piece is indicative of the stories embedded within the frame story.
There are two images of lamps which seem like an obvious reference to the popular Aladdin's Lamp. The hearts around the edges can be seen as a reference to love and sexuality that is not only a fundamental theme of the frame story but also plays a significant role in most of Shahrazad's tales.
Disney's animated movie Aladdin is famously inspired by the Tale of Aladdin and the magic lamp from the Thousand and One Nights.
Disney describes it the movie in the following words:. Aladdin's whole life changes with one rub of a magic lamp as a fun-loving, shape-shifting Genie appears and grants him three wishes, setting him on an incredible journey of discovery. Through his adventures, Aladdin proves that he is a prince where it truly matters most -- on the inside! The Disney adaptation is interesting on multiple levels. In terms of themes, several aspects of the original tales are captured.
The "enchanted city" that Aladdin lives in seems to resemble one from an Arab country with its surrounding dessert landscape, the clothes and names of the characters and the bazaars that feature extensively in the film. Yet, it is difficult to determine the geographical location of this city given the appearance of some of the animals in the movie from Jasmine's pet tiger to Aladdin's pet monkey both of which remind the audience of India immediately.
Hence, much like the tales, this Arabian Nights inspired animated movie seems to be a mix of several geographical and cultural references making its location and origins just as ambiguous. It is also interesting to look at another key difference in the representation of Jafar in the movie who differs drastically from the loyal vizier of Haroun al-Rashid in the actual stories.
Disney's depiction of Jafar is as a manipulative villain who seeks to overthrow his caliph by marrying his caliph's daughter. In the traditional story, Shahrazad claims that Haroun al-Rashid forces his vizier Jafar to marry his sister so he can sleep with both of them at the same time.
He forbids them from seeing each other outside of his presence, but eventually the two give in to temptation, which could possibly be the reason that Haroun has Jafar executed.
Arabian Nights is a adventure film based on the Thousand and One Nights. A closer look at the film however, reveals that the movie is more a work of imagination keeping in mind its western audience than a representation of the the Arabian tales. The film is one of series of "exotic" tales released by Universal Studios during the war years. Apart from this more well-known example, there have been countless other adaptations. For instance, a Italian film directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini.
A t tachments 8 Page History People who can view. Then the merchants leave it until midday, and birds of the large kind of vulture and the aquiline vulture descend to that meat, and, taking it in their talons, fly up to the top of the mountain; whereupon the merchants come to them, and cry out at them, and they fly way from the meat.
The merchants then advance to that meat, and take from it the stones sticking to it; after which they leave the meat for the birds and the wild beasts, and carry the stones to their countries Lane-Poole, The reference to the "great terrors" and "large kind of vulture" are examples of the fantastical situations and elements that make a large proportion of the tales.
Genies are another illustration of this theme as they are present and play significant roles in several of the stories with different kinds and forms of them. In stories like The story of the Porter and the Three Ladies and Aladdin's Lamp the genies are generous and compliant.
In other stories, like The Fisherman and the Jinni however, the genie is bitter and resentful. This genie also implies the existence of a larger society of supernatural beings since he has a king that is cruel and punishing. The use of these supernatural elements in the tales is important and significant for a number of reasons. Firstly and often most obviously they serve as plot devices that further the plot by creating or resolving hurdles for the major characters.
Secondly, given the nature of the tales and their popularity in the West, it is expected that tales with a mention of the fantastical and exotic would gain more popularity than those that were more commonplace and realistic.
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