Date of Award
5-3-2013
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
English, MA
First Advisor
Dr.Jerry Ball
Committee Members
Dr.Michael Spikes; Dr.Robert Lamm
Abstract
Although Arabic literature has a rich heritage which exerted considerable influence upon the west, after the Middle Ages Arabic writers produced little in the way of prose fiction. When the printing press was introduced in Arabic-speaking countries in the nineteenth century, all that changed profoundly. Western novels like those of Scott, Dumas, Dickens and others were first translated into Arabic and then quickly imitated by writers like Zayin and Abu-Hadid. Although such novels were popular, their literary quality was often low. All of this changed in the middle of the twentieth century when authors like Al-Sibai, Idris and especially Mahfouz made the novel their own, adapting the approach, social consciousness and realism of Dickens, Trollope and Galsworthy to their own world. Imitators no more, Arabic writers have produced a body of literature which can stand comparison to any in the world.
Rights Management
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Alghamdi, Ghada D., "East Meets West: The Impact of British Novelists Upon Modern Arabic Fiction" (2013). Student Theses and Dissertations. 787.
https://arch.astate.edu/all-etd/787
