Traces of One Thousand and One Nights in Quixote

Abstract

Many studies and investigations affirm that the tales of One Thousand and One Nights have had a great influence on popular Spanish culture and on the literature written by Cervantes. This study examines the traces of One Thousand and One Nights, its possible routes of arrival in Cervantes' work, and its literary technique. As almost all Cervantes studies confirm, the tale of the ebony horse is the same as Clavileño. Don Quixote has much in common with the beginning of One Thousand and One Nights. Cervantes follows several conventions of Arabic literature, beginning with the title. He uses a main narrator, the "Arab sage," whom he employs thematically, stylistically, and as a literary technique. This narrator does not physically appear as a character in the work, just as is the case with Shahrazad, a great reader. There are many similarities between the two works in their use of poetry, the type of poetry they employ, and their diverse authors.