
The Arabian Epic: Volume 1, Introduction
Heroic and Oral Story-telling
M. C. Lyons(Author)
Cambridge University Press
Published on 17. June 2005
Book
Paperback/Softback
200 pages
978-0-521-01738-1 (ISBN)
Description
The hero cycles of Arabic belong to the literary tradition of The Arabian Nights and can be seen as the popular epics of their civilisation. The Arabian epic covers eleven of the main representatives of this genre. Each of these has been developed through the processes of accretive oral story-telling by means of an accumulation of narrative and folklore motifs, many of which belong to what can be seen as a universal tradition. The work is published in three volumes. The first volume introduces the background and the dimensions in which the cycles are set, while the second volume analyses their contents and the literary formulae used in their construction, as well as listing analogues found in other literatures. The epitomes surveyed in the final volume provide non-Arabists with a more immediate insight into the contents of the cycles, drawing attention to their narrative colouring and texture.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Cambridge
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
Worked examples or Exercises
Dimensions
Height: 244 mm
Width: 170 mm
Thickness: 12 mm
Weight
355 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-521-01738-1 (9780521017381)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Book
07/1995
Cambridge University Press
€55.80
Article exhausted; check for reprint
Previous edition

Book
07/1995
Cambridge University Press
€55.80
Article exhausted; check for reprint
Person
Content
Preface; Introduction to volume one; Part I. Dimensions: Time and space; Racial groups; Social organisation, authority and the individual; Women, love and marriage; Background of beliefs; Part II. Narrative Settings: War; The sea; Common: uncommon; Part III. Structure; Part IV. Narrative Agents: Minor characters; Princes; Heroes; The monstrous regiment; The Man of Wiles; Villains; Conclusion; Select bibliography; Abbreviations used in indices; Index of names; Index of places.