Assignment Detail

Assignment ID: FG133288512

Question: In The Arabian Nights, Shahrazad’s tale-telling quickly locks into a pattern: While the content, themes, and central characters of her tales can vary significantly, the world of the frame narrative remains essentially unchanged from one night to the next.

First, describe the setting in which Shahrazad tells this first batch of tales, keeping any previous posts in mind as you do so;

Now relate that setting to the character of Shahrayar, both in terms of what appears to happen every night before the storytelling begins and what you perceive the king’s attitude might be toward those stories. Discuss one specific tale or sub-tale to support your observations: How would this mighty king regard that tale’s central characters and events? With what elements of that tale might he identify?

Now consider Dinarzad’s function in this pattern: Beyond her nightly exclamations of “what an entertaining story!,” what is she really there to do (Nights 29)?