The Rhetorical Fabric of the Traditional Arabic Qasida in Its Formative Stages: A Comparative Study of the Rhetoric in Two Traditional Poems by 'Alqam

By Ali Ahmad Hussein

Ali Ahmad Hussein's book studies the rhetorical texture in two traditional tripartite poems: one from the pre-Islamic period, composed by 'Alqama l-Fahl, and one from the early 'Abbasid era, composed by Bashshar b. Burd. The poems have the same structure and deal with the same themes (love, camel-section, and praise or self praise). They also contain almost the same number of verses. A fundamental question is raised: What are the rhetorical figures on which each of the two poets depended in order to compose his poem? This, in turn, leads to a broader question: How different was the badi' style ("the rhetorical style") in the poetry of the two aforementioned eras, assuming the two poems are representative of their times? The book starts with a survey of the development of the classical rhetorical studies from the 2nd and the 8th century until modern times. The way classical and modern scholars used to analyze a literary text with reference to its rhetoric is also discussed. A clarification of some problematic issues related to the rhetorical terms used in this book follows, before the rhetoric of the two poems is analyzed in detail. The study ends with a discussion of the main thesis: What are the differences in the use of rhetoric between the two poems?

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 3447104678
• ISBN13: 9783447104678
• Release Date: October 2015
• Publisher: Harrassowitz
• Length: 292 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.7" x 8.6"