In his preface to his translation, Burton promotes the study of the Arabian Nights among the British as a means of understanding the cultures and customs of the Muslim world, which made up a large part of the British Empire at the time. The popularity of Burton's Arabian Nights translation was due in part to British interest in their "Oriental" colonies. Compare the British attitudes towards the Middle East in the nineteenth century with the policies of the United States and Britain towards that region today. Do you see any similarities? Differences?

A. S. Byatt writes, "Collections of tales talk to each other and borrow from each other, motifs glide from culture to culture, century to century." The Arabian Nights, itself a compilation, bears much resemblance to stories and folktales found in cultures around the world. It is also cited as one...