SOAS Research Online

Abstract

The aim of this research is to analyse the philosophical and aesthetic principles of Hazim al-Qartajanni's poetic theory, as set down in his Minhaj al-Bulagha' wa-Siraj al-Udaba. It is our intent, in addition, to reveal the sources for his theory in Graeco-Arabic and Islamic-Arabic sources as well as his contributions to both. The preface defines the subject-matter and the methodology. This is followed by an Introduction which places Hazim in his cultural context by looking at his masters and his pupils, and examining not only his works on criticism, but also his influence on the establishment of a school of Arabic rhetoric in the western parts of the Arab world (Andalusia and North Africa) and on the development of Arabic criticism generally. The thesis is then divided into two parts, each of which has two chapters. Part one, on the nature of poetry in respect of both poet and recipient, deals with; 1) the notion of poetry as it is understood, firstly in the fundamental term of muhakat (imitation) and the complementary terms associated with the root khayal (imagination), and secondly in those issues of classical Arabic criticism which are of central importance to that notion such as the issue of natural aptitude tab' and skill san'a; 2) the question of value judgement in art generally and in poetry, where there are three aspects: the psychological, ethical, and aesthetic; and how these are treated in Classical Arabic critical terminology as well as in the work of Hazim, who is shown to dwell most upon the aesthetic value. Part two, on rhythmic and linguistic structures in the qasida, deals with: 1) the nature of poetic measures, harmony, rhythm, and musicality, generally, as well as the part played by rhyme in creating poetic rhythm and the relation of measures and rhymes to the meaning of poetry; 2) the linguistic features of the qasida from individual components to the entire poetic expression of the whole structure of the qasida. Each chapter has four units, of which the first three discuss the main subject of the chapter in relation to Hazim's work and the Greek and Arab traditions of poetics; while the fourth evaluates Hazim's original contribution in the light of his most influential resources, both Arab and Greek. This thesis includes a glossary of some of Hazim's technical terms which have been employed in their original Arabic form as the equivalent English terms fail to illustrate their meaning accurately.