Al-Mutanabbi: Voice of the ‘Abbasid Poetic Ideal

157 Pages·2007·0.72 MB·English

by  Margaret Larkin

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MAKERS
of the
MUSLIM
WORLD
Al-Mutanabbi
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SELECTION OF TITLES IN THE MAKERS OF
THE MUSLIM WORLD SERIES
Series editor:Patricia Crone,
Institute for Advanced Study,Princeton
‘Abd al-Malik,Chase F.Robinson
Abd al-Rahman III,Maribel Fierro
Abu Nuwas,Philip Kennedy
Ahmad ibn Hanbal,Christopher Melchert
Ahmad Riza Khan Barelwi,Usha Sanyal
Al-Ma’mun,Michael Cooperson
Al-Mutanabbi,Margaret Larkin
Amir Khusraw,Sunil Sharma
El Hajj Beshir Agha,Jane Hathaway
Fazlallah Astarabadi and the Hurufis,Shazad Bashir
Ibn ‘Arabi,William C.Chittick
Ibn Fudi,Ahmad Dallal
Ikhwan al-Safa,Godefroid de Callatay
Shaykh Mufid,Tamima Bayhom-Daou
For current information and details of other books in the
series,please visit www.oneworld-publications.com
prelims.qxd 9/14/2007 1:54 PM Page iii
MAKERS
of the
MUSLIM
WORLD
Al-Mutanabbi
Voice of the ‘Abbasid Poetic Ideal
MARGARET LARKIN
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AL-MUTANABBI
Published by Oneworld Publications 2008
Copyright © Margaret Larkin 2008
All rights reserved
Copyright under Berne Convention
A CIP record for this title is available
from the British Library
ISBN 978–1–85168–406–9
Typeset by Jayvee,Trivandrum,India
Printed and bound in India for Imprint Digital
Oneworld Publications
185 Banbury Road
Oxford OX2 7AR
England
www.oneworld-publications.com
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find out about our latest titles and special offers at:
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FOR MY PARENTS, ORIGINAL AND SURROGATE
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CONTENTS
Preface xi
1 OUT OF ARABIA 1
Arabian origins 1
Poetic forms – the ode 2
Invective and elegy 3
Poets on the fringe 4
Islam’s effect on poetry 5
Centralization under the Umayyads 7
Diversity under the ‘Abbasids 8
Conservatism in poetic taste 10
Late ‘Abbasid disintegration 11
2 GROWING PAINS 15
Origins and early formation 15
Al-Mutanabbi goes to Baghdad 17
Early career in Syria 20
Rebellion and its aftermath 23
After the fall 25
At Kharshani’s court 26
Death of the poet’s grandmother 27
The Ikhshidid connection 30
Eye on the Hamdanid prize 31
3 GLORY DAYS IN ALEPPO 33
The Hamdanids of Aleppo 33
Al-Mutanabbi’s first ode to Sayf al-Dawlah 35
Occasional poems for the would-be patron 41
vii
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viii AL-MUTANABBI
Death of Sayf al-Dawlah’s mother 43
Elegy on Abu’l-Hayja’ 46
The poet–patron relationship 50
Demands on the poet 52
Epic occasions 54
Trouble in paradise 57
Al-Mutanabbi bites back 60
All good things ... 61
4 PARADISE LOST 63
From Aleppo to Egypt 63
Reluctant praise 66
Al-Mutanabbi demands his due 69
Saving face at Aleppo 72
Kafur’s final refusal 73
Angry satire 75
Out of Egypt 76
Home again 78
Sayf al-Dawlah in the wings 80
The poet in Persia 84
The Gap of Bavvan 87
To the hunt 93
Final call 95
5 CONTEMPORARY CRITICS 97
After the fall 97
Linguistic correctness 98
Diction and lexical choice 99
Construction of the poem 101
Philosophizing in poetry 103
The limits of imagination 105
Borrowing versus plagiarism 107
Summing up 109
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PREFACE ix
6 THE HIGHEST FORM OF PRAISE 113
Andalusian admirer 114
Kindred spirits 116
The classical as innovation 117
Neoclassical voice 121
Modern echoes 122
Conclusion 127
Suggestions for further reading 131
Index 135