Humorous Narratives in The Thousand and One Nights

Humor is an unusual domain of reversed realities which simultaneously deals with the real and unreal. Therefore one must be attentive to various forms and types of humor in the texts studied in this regards. Humor might take the forms of satire, lampoon and irony, and can be seen in wits, anecdotes and tales. In this article, after introducing definitions for various forms and types of humor, examples of the humorous tales in “The Thousand and One Nights” are mentioned, classified in three categories, and studied according to the typical characters. In the final step the comic techniques of these tales such as reversal, heterogeneity, contradiction, exaggeration, conflict, and surprise ending are examined.