Fantastical Elements in Three Stories from The Arabian Nights

Abstract

This dissertation is a study of the fantastical elements in three of the most popular stories from the Arabian Nights or The Thousand and One Nights. The exploration of fantastical elements in literature by Tzvetan Todorov and the nature of folklore explained by Vladimir Propp form the theoretical framework of the dissertation. Those are discussed in the Introduction. The literature review gives an elaborate survey of available relevant critical material. The stories of Aladdin or The Magic Lamp, Alibaba and the Forty Thieves and Sindbad and his Seven Voyages are discussed in the three main chapters. These stories have been chosen because of the great popularity and also because they perfectly exemplify the use of fantastical elements. A conclusion sums up the findings of the study.