Signs of Scripture in ‘The City of Brass’
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 22326192 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Bruce Fudge (0009-0000-0129-3130, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2006 |
| Volume | 8 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 88-118 |
| Publication date | 2006-04-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Qur'anic Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1465-3591 • E-ISSN: 1755-1730 |
| Publisher | Edinburgh University Press (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.3366/jqs.2006.8.1.88 |
| OpenAlex | W2038197200 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 6 |
While Qur'anic elements are a common feature of Arabic literature, these scriptural references can take various forms and perform very different functions. This paper will essay a classification of the Qur'anic elements in a tale from the Thousand and One Nights. On the face of it, ‘The City of Brass’ is very similar to the other tales in the Nights. However, the wonders of the Nights that normally entertain and beguile us are here turned to a homiletic purpose, emphasising the transience of human existence and the futility of worldly gain. The result is what one scholar called the ‘gloomiest of travelogues’. There is a range of Qur'anic references and influences in ‘The City of Brass’, but this article will focus on two elements. First, the story contains many references to the Islamic story of Solomon, but is the moralistic message of ‘The City of Brass’ consonant with the scriptural (and extra-scriptural) version? Are the scriptural allusions and motifs used in a manner consistent with their original contexts or meanings? Second, is there a deeper connection to the Qur'an, one that goes beyond the recognisable topoi and allusions? What is interesting here is that ‘The City of Brass’ uses the same vocabulary of wonder common to the Nights to follow a different moral trajectory. This trajectory, I argue, is derived in part from the Qur'an but more fundamentally from a model of narrative related to scripture and revelation
Aesthetics · Arabic · Art · Brass · Epistemology · Linguistics · Literature · Narrative · Revelation · Topos theory · Vocabulary · Wonder · Families in Therapy and Culture · Historical and Linguistic Studies · History · Media, Religion, Digital Communication · Philosophy
| Unique citing works | 3 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,25 |
| Citation span | 2014 - 2025 (12) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |