ENG 283E: Our Premodern Epics: How Epics Create Culture and Vice Versa

Scheherazade by Rimsky Korsakov

          The epic 1001 Arabian Nights focuses on a King disenchanted with the seemingly inherent nature of infidelity among women. Disgusted and upset, he decides to take a new wife each night, and then kill them in the morning. He does this until he takes Scheherazade, the daughter of a vizier, as his new wife. Each night, she tells the King a new story, and by retaining his interest in her tales, eludes death by his hand for 1001 nights until he eventually falls in love with her. 
          Scheherazade is a four part symphonic suite completed by Russian composer Rimsky Korsakov in the year 1888. It was inspired by the epic 1001 Arabian Nights and derives its title from the epic's heroine. Through the use of different instruments and themes, Korsakov weaves a tale of oriental fascination and fairy-tale whimsy for listeners young and old. A major component of the suite is that Korsakov's did not want the music to be scrupulously outlined by the epic, but rather loosely guided by it. Korsakov took the imagery of ancient desert cities and middle eastern culture and channeled it into music that feels exotic to western listeners. Korsakov coupled this with instrumentation representing both the King and Scheherazade herself. The King is introduced in the very beginning of the piece, with a resoundingly bold, brash theme to represent his power.  This is answered by the whimsical violin, the personification of the cunning and beautiful Scheherazade. As these two sounds interact with each other, the listener can begin to draw comparisons to the epic. 
          Scheherazade represents the significance of the epic as a medium in developing culture. It specifically shows 1001 Arabian Nights' ability to impact culture thousands of years later and in a completely different part of the world than where it was written. 
           

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