Search Results
Abstract
Boasting of one’s poetic talents was hardly an uncommon feature in Arabic poetry. Poets sang praises for their craft and exalted themselves over their rivals. They sometimes moved beyond braggadocio, however, explaining the particular attributes that made their poetry of unmatched quality. Al-Nāshiʾ al-Akbar (d. 293/906) was one such poet who declared his poetry to be an inimitable product defined by standards that he outlined in his didactic poems. He also penned at least one book on the criticism of poetry which only survives now as excerpts in a number of fourth/eleventh century works of adab. Fine poetry, according to al-Nāshiʾ, is the harmonious articulation of sounds and meanings presented in an accessible way to its audience but is impossible to reproduce. In this respect, I propose that, in expounding the standards of excellent poetry, al-Nāshiʾ alluded to theories of inimitability (iʿjāz) based on composition (naẓm) and divine prevention (ṣarfah). He was a Muʿtazilite theologian who was both celebrated and vilified by his contemporaries, and later scholars. His theological writings have been examined; however, his literary persona is still little-known. In contrast to most considerations of him, this study examines al-Nāshiʾ as a poet and critic foremost.
Abstract
This study investigates the status of poets and poetry in sixteenth-century Ottoman Damascus by focusing on soldier-turned-poet Māmayya al-Rūmī (d. 985-7/1577-9). As a poet he received patronage from local centers of prestige; however, such support seems to have been at best sporadic. While his dīwān (collection of poetry) is replete with poems celebrating his poetic ingenuity—notwithstanding the fact that he was not a native Arab, it is also a testimony to his frustrations with lack of financial security and his diminishing social status. In addition to gloomy poetry, he also composed a great number of panegyrics in honor of Ottoman sultans, scholars, and administrators. What was Māmayya’s position in the literary culture of sixteenth-century Damascus as a Rūmī? What was the role of panegyric poetry in this period? Did poets voice their concerns about lack of appreciation? This study explores these questions by focusing on a selection of poems by Māmayya al-Rūmī with references to his contemporary, and later poets.