Plot Summary

      The Thousand and One Nights, or Alf Layla wa Layla in Arabic, is a tale about King Shahrayar and Shahrazad. The Thousand and One Nights is comprised of many stories within the main story, a literary technique known as a frame tale. It tells the story of a young woman named Shahrazad who manages to earn the respect and love of a wrathful king with her skillful stroytelling. This king, Shahrayar, and his brother are wronged by their wives and declare that women cannot be trusted. King Shahrayar, after killing his adulterous wife, decides to wed a different virgin every night and have his vizier kill them in the morning. Shahrazad, the vizier's daughter, volunteers to marry the king in hopes of changing his ways and saving the remaining women. Before their wedding night is over and with the help of her younger sister, Dunzayar, King Shahrayar allows Shahrazad to tell him a story.  Shahrazad leaves the story unfinished at daybreak, which leaves him curious to hear the ending. She is able to secure his attention for 1001 nights telling 180 stories, such as "The Tale of Sympathy the Learned," "Story of Sinbad the Sailor," and "The Tale of the Porter and the Young Girls."  

    The 1001 Nights is a thrilling and spellbinding tale about one woman's determination to help others.  Shahrazad's goal is not only to save other women, but also to save the King from himself.  The series of stories that follow her wedding night range from romantic, to moral, to entertaining, full of magic, fantasy, romance and crime.  They also present a unique view of women, as well, and many of the ladies included in the stories are clever and self-sufficient, contrary to some popular cultural stigmas, at the time it was written. Regardless of the content, The 1001 Nights has remained immensely popular since it was widely translated and available to different cultures in the 18th century.  Today it is one of the best selling books in English.   

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