(Traces of Arabian Nights on Tennyson’s Lady of Shalott (Comparative Reading

It is obvious that there are many authors, directly or indirectly, have been influenced by each other, because they believe we have so many things in common and we can learn so many things from each other. In one word, they believe in globalization and cultural influence. One of those authors directly influenced by a writer from another nation and from past generations was Victorian poet Lord Alfred Tennyson in his masterpiece Lady of Shalott. He borrowed Arabian Nights Gothicism adding nightmarish effects to give birth to a masterpiece called Lady of Shalott. So this paper aimed to show Gothicism as a cultural configuration and will highlight the main characteristics of Gothic literature to show labyrinth of a solitudes in that time. It will be in three parts, the first part is the introduction talking about storytelling and the world the story, the second part will talk about comparative literature and Gothicism and the reason why Tennyson used this genre in his work and the similarity between these two works, and the last part will be conclusion of the essay. The technique of analysis is equally divided between a close reading of both lady of shallot and Arabian nights through close examination of comparative literature and Gothicism.