Hammond, Marle (2020) The Tale of al-Barrāq Son of Rawḥān and Laylā the Chaste: A Bilingual Edition and Study. Oxford: Oxford University Press. (British Academy Monographs)
Abstract
This book presents a bilingual edition and study of an anonymous work of early Arabic fiction set in pre-Islamic times: an Arab maiden called 'Laylā the Chaste' is kidnapped and threatened with forced marriage to a Persian king. Ultimately, she is saved by her handsome and beloved cousin al-Barrāq, and they marry and live happily ever after. This knight-in-shining-armour-rescues-damsel-in-distress narrative, which combines elements of the Arabic popular epic (sīra) with others from the Udhrī; love story and the western fairy tale, was misinterpreted as history by scholars in the 19th century. In the two substantive chapters that frame her translation of the tale, Hammond discusses the text's evolution in the Arab Renaissance and its metamorphoses in 20th-century popular culture. She also analyses the structure of the tale to look for clues as to its real origins, shedding new light on theories of the development of the Arabic novel.
| Item Type: | Authored Books |
|---|---|
| SOAS Departments & Centres: | Departments and Subunits > School of Languages, Cultures & Linguistics |
| ISBN: | 9780197266687 |
| DOI (Digital Object Identifier): | https://doi.org/10.5871/bacad/9780197266687.003.0002 |
| Date Deposited: | 30 Jan 2020 15:39 |
| URI: | https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/id/eprint/32231 |
| Related URLs: |
https://global. ... d&lang=de&cc=lv
(Publisher URL)
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| Funders: | British Academy |
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