SOURCE: Mahdi, Muhsin. “Exemplary Tales in the 1001 Nights.” Mundus Arabicus 3 (1983): 1-24.

In the following essay, Mahdi discusses the stylistic origins of the tales in The Arabian Nights, arguing that they comprise a complete and unified text that reworks earlier stories, particularly the 'exemplary tales,' to create the effect of linguistic unity.

Literary criticism of 1001 Nights must begin with the following question: Is the 1001 Nights a collection, or a number of independent collections, of stories that follow one another with no connection between them other than the fact that they happen to be placed in this or that order in the edition or translation we chanced to be reading? If the critic's answer to the question is in the affirmative, he should refrain from speaking about the 1001 Nights as a whole, as a literary work that has a beginning and an end and parts that show a recognizable...