Oriental Echoes: William Shakespeare's The Tempest, The Quran and The Arabian Nights

2009

This essay argues that there are striking similarities between William Shakespeare's The Tempest, and The Quran and between that play and The Arabian Nights. In particular, this essay explores how Shakespeare's Prospero and the Quranic Joseph are similar in terms of loss, and reconciliation. It also investigates how Prospero is similar to and different from the Quranic Solomon. Furthermore, the essay examines allusions to the sea in these three texts. By way of concluding, this essay suggests that Shakespeare might have been exposed to The Quran and The Arabian Nights.