BORROWED IMAGINATION: THE ROLE OF SCHEHERAZADE AND THE ARABIAN NIGHTS AS A SOURCE OF INSPIRATION TO THE ENGLISH LITERARY TRADITION
BORROWED IMAGINATION: THE ROLE OF SCHEHERAZADE AND THE ARABIAN NIGHTS AS A SOURCE OF INSPIRATION TO THE ENGLISH LITERARY TRADITION

Summary/Abstract: The present paper offers insightful critiques to the role of Scheherazade as a global figure in the process of inspiring the imagination of English writers over centuries. At the heart of this research paper, there is an emphasis on the recurring stories of the shrewd Princess Scheherazade, Aladdin, the adventure of Sinbad, and Ali Baba and how they influenced the Western literary imagination since the early days of Daniel Defoe and William Shakespeare up to the present. The paper also seeks to explore the oral circulation of The Arabian Nights and its different translations to outlive the narrative popularity of Scheherazade’s tales as a productive source of imagination, hope, and survival agains the gemonic regimes. The paper is based on the principles of Robert Irwin’s theory of literary translation. Finally, the paper unfolds the combination of knowledge of the Oriental literary and artistic tradition represented by the classic text of The Arabian Nights with the romantic, gothic and ironic patterns which ultimately back up any English writer to produce an engaging work that suits his/her own formula and expectation.

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