Poetry

Arabic poetry -is the earliest form

of Arabic Literature. Present knowledge of poetry in Arabic dates from the 6th century. Arabic poetry is categorized into two main types, rhymed or measured, and prose

2 categories:
Classical poetry- was written before the
Arabic renaissance Thus, all poetry that was written in the classical style is called "classical" or "traditional poetry" since it follows the traditional style and structure. It is also known as "horizontal poetry" in reference to its horizontal parallel structure.

 Modern poetry-on the

other hand, deviated from classical poetry in its content, style, structure, rhyme and topics.

Al-Mutanabbi was
an Arab Iraqi poet. He is considered as one of the greatest poets in the Arabic language. Much of his poetry revolves around praising the kings he visited during his lifetime.

His Works

Only by Al-Saddiq Al-Raddi A lazy noon stirs me from your memory to this glass of tea and a wondering embrace In a mood busy with inquisitiveness I smell the lees of the scent that lingers behind you I sense your shade in the shadows in the dregs of all that gossip Oh you sinner!

Like a rumoured prophet's advent you slide from the ripe fruit of sleep afire with ideas, your flashing wit

Three principal purposes for the public

performance of poetry:

panegyric -the praise of the tribe and its

elders, a genre of poetry that was to become the primary mode of poetic expression during the Islamic period

praises oppositelampoon -whereby

the poet would be expected to take verbal aim at the communitys enemies and impugn their honour (most often at the expense of women); and

praise of the dead, or elegy

Poetic themes

Madih, a eulogy or panegyric Hija, a lampoon or insult poem Ritha, an elegy Wasf, a descriptive poem Ghazal, a love poem, sometimes expressing love of
home

Khamriyyah, wine poetry Tardiyyah, hunt poetry Zuhdiyyah, homiletic poetry Fakhr, boasting Hamasa, war poetry

3 Important themes of Arabic Poetry since 1875

Neo-classicism (late 19th century until 1920s)Organic unity insisted on wehdat al-baitunity of the line- the concept that each line had to be grammatically and semantically complete

 Romanticism (approx post World War I) -Still regard organic

unity as important element in later stages of neoclassicism/ early romanticist poetry.

Realism ( post World War II)increasingly irrelevant to the Arab world which was waking up to the harsh political and social realities.

Poetic Genres
Romantic poetry A famous example of Arabic poetry on romance is Layla and Majnun, dating back to the Umayyad era in the 7th century.

Satirical poetry The genre of Arabic satirical poetry was known as hija.