Critical Essay Tale of the Porter and the Young Girls
The following is a critical insight of a passage from; “the tale of the porter and the young girls” from the Thousand and one nights.
Presently the Caliph looked on the three Kalandars and, seeing them, each and every blind of the left eye, wondered at the sight. Then he gazed upon the girls, and he was startled and he marveled with exceeding marvel at their beauty and loveliness. They continued to carouse and to converse, and said to the Caliph, "Drink!" But he replied, "I am vowed to pilgrimage," and drew back from the wine. Thereupon the portress rose and, spreading before him a tablecloth worked with gold, set thereon a porcelain bowl into which she poured willow-flower water with a lump of snow and a spoonful of sugar candy. The Caliph thanked her and said in himself, "By Allah, I will recompense her tomorrow for the kind deed she hath done." The others again addressed themselves to conversing and carousing, and when the wine gat the better of them, the eldest lady, who ruled the house, rose and, making obeisance to them, took the cateress by the hand and said, "Rise, O my sister, and let us do what is our devoir." Both answered "Even so
The passage unfolds by telling us about the present, “presently…..” what rings in the mind of the reader is, there must have been events preceding to this and this would only be told in a form of flashback. We also note that such stylistic devices must majorly have been put to play. The reader will therefore switch in to a rhetoric mood and would ask himself questions like; what is the history behind the ‘present’ or maybe would want to know what happened right before Caliph looked at the three Kalandars.
Another thing that amazes me is the way Caliph gets carried away by the sight of the three Kalandars. It simply shows us how humans are simply driven more by what they see than what the reality is. It can also be stereotyped that eyes are so deceptive and we tend to only look at the face value of an item instead of
Presently the Caliph looked on the three Kalandars and, seeing them, each and every blind of the left eye, wondered at the sight. Then he gazed upon the girls, and he was startled and he marveled with exceeding marvel at their beauty and loveliness. They continued to carouse and to converse, and said to the Caliph, "Drink!" But he replied, "I am vowed to pilgrimage," and drew back from the wine. Thereupon the portress rose and, spreading before him a tablecloth worked with gold, set thereon a porcelain bowl into which she poured willow-flower water with a lump of snow and a spoonful of sugar candy. The Caliph thanked her and said in himself, "By Allah, I will recompense her tomorrow for the kind deed she hath done." The others again addressed themselves to conversing and carousing, and when the wine gat the better of them, the eldest lady, who ruled the house, rose and, making obeisance to them, took the cateress by the hand and said, "Rise, O my sister, and let us do what is our devoir." Both answered "Even so
The passage unfolds by telling us about the present, “presently…..” what rings in the mind of the reader is, there must have been events preceding to this and this would only be told in a form of flashback. We also note that such stylistic devices must majorly have been put to play. The reader will therefore switch in to a rhetoric mood and would ask himself questions like; what is the history behind the ‘present’ or maybe would want to know what happened right before Caliph looked at the three Kalandars.
Another thing that amazes me is the way Caliph gets carried away by the sight of the three Kalandars. It simply shows us how humans are simply driven more by what they see than what the reality is. It can also be stereotyped that eyes are so deceptive and we tend to only look at the face value of an item instead of