The Return of Scheherazade to the Arabic World: A Case Study of Edgar Allan Poe’s The Thousand and the Second Tale of Scheherazade

الملخص

Abstract: The present study aims to investigate the return of Scheherazade to the Arabic world. Throughout analyzing the image of Scheherazade in some selected Arabic translations and adaptations of Edgar Allan Poe's short story The Thousand and Second Tale of Scheherazade, this study focuses on two issues. First, it explores how the new image of Scheherazade is presented to the Arabic reader. Second, it reveals the significance and contribution of these translations and adaptations in increasing the value of the source text of The Thousand and One Nights in the field of Arabic literature after it had been neglected for centuries. This research uses the critical discourse analysis to demonstrate how the new image of Scheherazade changes cross-culturally, and what kind of themes have been presented by the Arabic writers. In the conclusion, the discussion shows how the Arabic writers have used the new image of Scheherazade to present issues and themes related to their culture. Besides that, it concludes that adapting such literary works can lead to preserving and reviving ancient literature, enriching the source text with new images and meanings, and creating new literary genres.