Metrical Dimension of Medieval Poetical Anthologies: A Case of Hira

Dmitry Frolov. Metrical Dimension of Medieval Poetical Anthologies: A Case of

ra. 1

1. While working on a monograph dedicated to the study of ‘Ar

verse,2 I

spent much time scanning poems of different poets, d w n after d w n, in order to get exact data of metrical repertory of individual poets and poetical anthologies. These data arranged in a number of tables showed a picture which was quite unexpected and which might have, if it is correct, important implications for the history of the Classical Arabic Poetry. Statistical studies of the Arabic metrics have a long-standing tradition, beginning with Freytag's Darstellung... (1830).3 Later appeared publications of Bräunlich (1937), Vadet (1955), Bencheikh (1975), to name only several most important.4 Nevertheless it is noteworthy, that the above picture became visible only due to the following traits of the present study: 1) Enlargement of the scope of statistical analysis: approximately 12 thousand poems of about 100 poet (11952/96) compared to 529 poems of 15 poets (Bräunlich), 4886 poems of 21 poet (Vadet), 5472 poems of 30 poets (Bencheikh, who incorporated the data of Vadet and Grunebaum (1959)5 into his study);

1

The article based on the oral presentation at the 17th Congress of the UEAI (St. Petersburg, 1994) was published in: Proceedings of the 17th Congress of the UEAI. St. Petersburg, 1997, 94. 2 Д.В. Фролов. Классический арабский стих. История и теория аруда. (Москва: Наука, 1991); Dmitry Frolov, Classical Arabic Verse: History and Theory of ‘Ar (Leiden: Brill, 2000). 3 G.W. Feytag, Darstellung der arabischen Verskunst (Bonn, 1830). 4 E. Bräunlich, “Versuch einer literaturgeschichtlichen Betrachtungsweise altarabischer Poesien”, Der Islam 24 (1980) 201-269; J. Vadet, “Contribution à l'histoire de la métrique arabe”, Arabica 2 (1955) 313-321; J. Bencheikh, Poétique arabe (Paris,1975). 5 Shu‘ar ’ ‘abb siyyūn: Mu ī‘ ibn Iy s, Salm al-Kh sir, Abū 'l-Shamaqmaq. Ed. G.E. von Grunebaum. Beirut, 1959.

2

2) Division of Jahiliyya poets into sedentary and nomad, and the latter

according to regions (Western, Central and Eastern Arabia), following Blachère's scheme in his Histoire de la littérature arabe (1952-1966) and giving figures separately for each group; 3) Inclusion of major ‘Abbasid anthologies, which contained mainly PreIslamic, Early Islamic and Umayyad material into the study, for comparing these data with those obtained from individual d w ns (12743 poems, of which Agh n ’s share is about 10 thousand). 2. Another thing which made it possible to see what was hitherto hidden was a new conception of the structure and genesis of the ‘Ar

verse, proposed by the

author in his monograph. As most of my works, including the book, exist so far only in Russian,6 I will try to give an idea of my metrical theory, which is the basis of the arrangement of meters in the tables. Classical Arabic verse developed from folklore foundation of ancient recital and song forms of rhythmical speech used by Northern Arabian tribes. We can reconstruct three such forms: rajaz, mostly a declamatory form, being the direct continuation of ancient saj‘; hazaj, whose roots come from the autochthonous, now extinct, tradition of song and music of Bedouins of Central and West Arabia; ramal, whose origins can be traced back to the tradition of singing, imported to the Peninsula from the Sasanid Iran, mainly through

ra, the seat of Lakhmid

kings.7 Of the two song forms only one, hazaj, is Arabic in its origins, and it is doubtless much older than the other. The evolution of the inner structure from primitive verse forms to a more strict metrical order brought into existence alternating rhythm of a clearly quantitative nature, based on a watid-sabab alternation, where the longer 6

The article was published before the Brill monograph on ‘Ar . ‘Ar meters that bear the same names – rajaz, hazaj, ramal – are not identical with these archaic verse forms, though the meters are their direct descendants. 7

3

segment, watid, played the role of arsis, while the shorter segment, sabab, that of thesis. This rhythm had three variations corresponding to the above archaic verse forms: ascending, where watid is placed at the end of each foot (rajaz rhythm); descending, where each foot begins with watid (hazaj rhythm); and intermediate, where watid stands in the centre of the foot (ramal rhythm). Each basic rhythm gave birth to a “family” of closely related meters. Thus, the hazaj family comprises such meters as aw l, w fir, mutaq rib, as well as the ‘Ar

version of hazaj; the rajaz family, bas , k mil, sar ‘, munsa , mujtathth,

not to mention rajaz proper; and the ramal family, the smallest one, includes only three meters – khaf f, ramal proper, and mad d, which is actually a rare variation of ramal. These “families” played different roles in the making of the metrical repertory of Arabic poetry. 3. The image of Pre-Islamic poetry, reflected (or created) by anthologies compiled during the period of “written fixation” (al-tadw n), beginning in the second half of the 8th century A.D. and ending at the dawn of the 10th century A.D., is still dominant in Modern Arabic Culture and in the works on the history of Arabic poetry by European scholars. This view places the centre of poetical activity in Northern Arabia. The poetical heritage of the Bedouin tribes located there appears as basically uniform in all significant aspects, metric included, and very different from the ‘Abbasid poetry, created by the muwallad n poets who belonged to the movement of bad ‘, which seemed almost a revolution in the domain of the poetic art. With this picture in my mind I started scanning verses, beginning with anthologies, which are metrically the least studied part of the cultural heritage (if we do not consider the recent work of W. Stoetzer on Mufa aliyy t8) and a very important one as it gives one the idea of how the authors and the general public of 8

W.F.G.J. Stoetzer, Theory and Practice in Arabic Metrics (Leiden,1989), see also my review of it in: MESA Bulletin 28 (1994) 142.

4

the ‘Abbasid times saw their ancient heritage.

Table 1. Metrical Repertory of Major Anthologies. Meters

Muf

Descending: 35,61 aw l 12,88 w fir w fir (short) hazaj 6,82 mutaq rib mutaq rib (sh.) mu ri‘ 55,31 Total Ascending: bas bas (mukh) k mil k mil (short) rajaz (short) sar ‘ munsari mujtathth muqta ab Total Intermediate: mad d mad d (short) ramal ramal (short) khaf f khaf f (short) Total

Am

am-

Agh

1

2 46,29 9,97 0,07 0,14 3,78

34,46 10,81 0,75 1,22 3,68 0,08 0,01 51,03

ab

am-

36,74 10,20

44,49 17,40

2,17 4,35

2,04

0,22 1,32

56,40 10,67 0,11 0,22 2,25

55,43

48,98

63,44

69,66

60,25

18,37 2,04 14,29

4,55 1,51

6,52 1,09 25,00 1,09 3,26 2,17 1,09

6,12 4,08

11,45 0,22 14,76 1,10 3,96 0,88 0,88

10,90 0,22 11,46 1,01 3,15 1,12 1,12

13,20 0,14 12,31 2,68 1,52 1,24 2,47

40,15

40,22

44,90

33,26

28,99

33,56

11,37 0,35 10,75 2,34 5,32 3,41 3,11 0,49 0,02 37,17

0,22

0,28

0,86

0,88

0,22 0,11 0,34

1,57 1,66 6,84 0,85 11,78

14,39 19,70

35,87 13,04

Jam

2,27 2,27

4,35

6,12

2,20

0,67

4,54

4,35

6,12

3,30

1,35

2,27 0,14 3,43 0,07 6,19

4 meters short forms

82,58

80,43 7,61

81,64 2,04

89,42 5,50

90,77 4,82

84,66 4,48

70,83 13,95

Pieces

132

91

49

454

890

1454

9673

5

4. The first results substantiated the initial picture and made it more definite and concrete, see Table 1 which includes data on Mufa aliyy t (Muf), A ma‘iyy t (A m), Jamhara (Jam) by Ab Zayd al-Qurash , abaq t al-shu‘ara’ ( ab) by al-Jumah , two

amasa's – by Ab Tamm m ( am-1) and al-Bu tur

( am-2), and Agh n (Agh). The metrical repertory of the ancient poetry, or the qa d tradition, seemed to be characterized by the following distinctive features: 1) Unchallenged priority of aw l, the main qa d meter, whose share is generally no less than one third of the total poetical production, often reaching over 50 percent, which results also in prevalence of descending rhythm meters; 2) Predominance of four basic (long) meters of the qa d: aw l, bas , w fir, k mil, whose share oscillate above the mark of 90%, only rarely falling below 80%; 3) Very low rate of meters of the third rhythm (the ramal family), whose total share varies from zero to 1,5%, only occasionally reaching the mark of 45%; 4) Rarity of short verse forms, used mainly for singing (hazaj, k mil, ramal, khaf f), as qa d poetry was intended primarily for declamation. 5. I turned to poets from Bedouin tribes from Western and Central Arabia and the obtained data were in conformity with what we saw in the analysed anthologies, as can be seen from Table 2, where Western tribes are represented by D w n al-Hudhaliyy n (Hudh) and Central Arabian tribes are represented by the authors of mu‘allaqat – Zuhayr (Zuh), Imru’ulqays (Imr), ‘Antara (‘Ant) Lab d (Lab), an-N bigha (Nab), and such poet as

u ay’a ( ut), chosen more or

less at random from tables given in the monograph. Certain individual deviations from the general pattern, attested in several

6

cases, such as the drop in the frequency of aw l (‘Antara and Lab d), followed in the last case by the analogous fall in the frequency of descending rhythm and four basic meters; the raise of the rate of the third, intermediate rhythm in the poetry of the two poets, can be accounted for by specific reasons, which we have no need to dwell upon here. Metrical repertory of Imru’ulqays, which has many peculiarities, is more interesting for our theme, but we will speak about it later. Table 2. Bedouin Metrical Tradition in the J hiliyya Poetry. Meters Descending: aw l w fir w fir (short) hazaj mutaq rib Total Ascending: bas bas (mukh.) k mil k mil (short) rajaz (3) rajaz (2) sar ‘ munsari Total

Hudh

Zuh

ut

41,43 18,93 0,59

30,18 24,53

45,31 19,36

‘Ant

Lab

Nab

37,00 15,00

26,90 28,96

25,89 20,00

37,33 20,00

1,18 5,92 66,86

1,89 66,60

4,27 68,94

10,00 62,00

2,76 58,62

47,07

57,33

11,83

18,87

15,38

9,65

5,88

28,00

13,02 0,59 5,92 0,59 0,59 0,59 33,14

18,87

10,26 1,71 0,85

8,00 1,00 13,00 1,00 6,00 1,00

22,76

18,82 3,53 15,29

10,67

Intermediate: madid ramal ramal (short) khafif khafif (short) Total 4 meters short forms

Imr

0,85 3,77 31,51

29,05

2,67 3,00 33,00 1,00 3,00

1,89 1,71

85,80 7,69

2,76

0,69 35,86

3,53 47,05

1,38 0,69 3,45

2,35 3,53

1,33

41,34

1,89

1,71

4,00

5,52

5,88

1,33

92,45

92,02 2,56

75,00 8,00

88,27 3,45

74,12 20,00

96,00

7

Pieces

100

53

117

100

145

85

75

6. The poetry of Eastern nomadic tribes was in general no different from that of the other regions though the number of deviations increased, as can be seen from Table 3, which include such poets as ‘Alqama al-Fa l (‘Alq), Sal ma ibn Jandal (Sal), al-Aswad ibn Ya‘fur (Asw), Aws ibn Khajar (Aws),9 and two authors of mu‘allaqat - arafa ( ar) and al-A‘sh (A‘sh ). Table 3. Metrical Repertory of the Eastern Nomadic Tribes. Meters Descending: aw l w fir w fir (short) mutaq rib Total Ascending: bas bas (mukh) k mil k mil (short) rajaz (3) sar ‘ munsari Total Intermediate: mad d ramal khaf f Total 4 meters 9

‘Alq

Sal

57,15 3,57

50,00 11,54

Aws

ar

A‘sh

44,11 17,65

43,00 12,00

38,25 2,94

60,72

7,69 69,23

61,76

8,00 63,00

5,88 47,07

32,50 8,75 1,25 12,50 55,00

28,57

26,92

16,18

14,50

8,82

17,65

14,50

20,59

3,57

Asw

3,85 2,94 1,47

3,57 35,71

30,77

38,24

6,00 2,00 37,00

2,94 5,88 38,23

10,00 1,25 7,50 7,50 6,25 2,50 1,25 36,25

3,57

2,94 11,76

3,57

14,70

2,50 7,50 10,00

70,60

68,75

92,86

92,31

95,59

84,00

The data of Aws's metrical repertory were taken from Bencheikh's book, as the d w n of this poet was out of my reach.

8

short forms Pieces

28

3,85

2,94

26

68

-

2,94

16,25

34

80

7. When I turned to the poetry of sedentary Arabs, most of them connected with

ra, it became clear that the above metrical picture is correct only for a part

of J hiliyya poetry, but not the whole of it. As far as I know, Professor Grunebaum was the first to realize that side by side with the Bedouin metrical school there existed another school, originated in

ra. In his foreword to the

D w n of Ab Du’ d al-Iy d , which he himself collected and published, Prof. Grunebaum wrote: “As an unexpected reward... Ab Du’ d emerged as an important figure in literary history, enabling us to form new concepts of the literary situation in those parts of the ‘arabiyya which from about A.D. 450-600 had their cultural center in al- ra, the capital of the Lakhm d kings”.10 Prof. Grunebaum also wrote: “For the understanding of the development of Arabic poetry the study of Ab Du’ d has yielded far-reaching results which can be summarized as follows: al- ra and the ‘Iraqian and East Arabian areas of which it was the cultural capital harboured a highly developed school of poetry, distinguished by metrical variety, occasional expression of ideas of non-Bedouin background, and a definite colour of local tradition. So far, Ab Du’ d is the first representative of the group... It is not surprising to find the metrical technique of Arabic poetry in ‘Iraq richer than anywhere else. Generations of town and court life naturally tended to develop those arts that were generally practised”.11 It is significant that two special metrical characteristics mentioned by 10

G.E.von Grunebaum, Ab Du’ d al-Iy d : Collection of Fragments, WZKM 51 (1948-1952) 83. 11 ibid,100-101. Grunebaum included into this school, not to mention Ab Du’ d, such poets as ‘Ad ibn Zayd, Mutalammis, arafa, al-Muthaqqib al-‘Abdi, ‘Abd Qays al-Burjumi, al-A‘sh .

9

Grunebaum are: 1) the use of ramal, and 2) a certain predilection for khaf f.12 Prof. Grunebaum treated occurrence of these meters in the poetry of the

ra

school as independent characteristics of its metrical repertory, but if the theoretical exposition presented above is true, they are simply different metrical variations of the same basic rhythm, whose origin can be connected with

ra as

an intermediary between Persian and Arabic cultures. In this case the observations made by Prof. Grunebaum can now be restated, and we can say that the poetical school of Hira shows a definite predilection for meters of the ramal basic rhythm which grew and remained outside the Bedouin Qa d tradition.13 8. Table 4 shows that, apart from a sharp increase in the occurrence of meters of the “ramal family” (up to one third of the total number of verses), some other features can be observed in the metrical repertory of the school. These are: 1) Considerable decline in the frequency of aw l that sometimes yields priority to another meter; 2) Similar fall in the occurrence of the four basic meters of the Qa d tradition; 3) Notable rise in the frequency of short verse forms, that were connected, as was mentioned above, with the art of singing. Table 4, which includes such poets from

ra as Abu Du’ d al-Iy di

(Du’ d), ‘Adi ibn Zayd (‘Adi), ‘Abid ibn al-Abras (‘Abid), also comprises data of

12

ibid,102-103. Grunebaum states that ramal in Pre-Islamic time was used only by poets of this school, with the exception of Imru’ulqays, who was believed to be the transmitter (r w ) of Ab Du’ d, whereas khaf f was occasionally used by poets not connected with the school. Though some new instances of the usage of these meters could now be added to the data given by Grunebaum, his general conclusion remains true. 13 Prof.Grunebaum very significantly suggests that "ramal was an adaptation of the Pahlavi octosyllabic verse... to the exigencies of Arabic prosody", quoting E.Benveniste, "Le texte du Draxt asurik et la versification pehlevie", JA 217 (1930) 221, and adds that "there is certainly no intrinsic obstacle to the assumption of Persian influence on the formation of Arabic poetical technique in the districts adjacent to, and under the suzerainty of, the Iranian power", see ibid, 102.

10

the poets of a’if, Umayya ibn Ab 'l-Salt (Umayya) and Abu Mihjan (Mihjan), which were chosen as an example of the spreading of the

ran metrical pattern

throughout other cities in Arabia.

Table 4. Metrical School of Meters Descending: aw l w fir hazaj mutaq rib Total Ascending: bas bas (mukhalla‘) k mil k mil (short) rajaz sar ‘ munsari Total Intermediate: mad d ramal ramal (short) khaf f khaf f (short) Total

ra in Pre-Islamic Poetry.

‘Adi

‘Abid

Umayya

Mihjan

12,50 8,33 1,39 6,94 29,16

21,25 11,25 2,50 3,75 38,75

21,28 10,64

17,71 15,63

28,58 21,43

2,13 34,05

7,29 40,63

50,01

15,28

8,75

18,75

21,43

12,50 9,72 4,17 1,39 1,39 44,45

7,50 1,25

23,40 2,13 14,90 6,38

14,28

6,25 3,75 27,50

2,13 6,38 55,32

10,42 3,12 3,12 1,04 5,21 41,66

Du’ d

1,39 4,17 19,44 25,00

1,25 11,25 1,25 18,75 1,25 33,75

35,71 14,28

4,25 6,38

15,63

10,63

15,63

14,28

Non-‘Ar verse

1,39

4 meters Short forms

58,33 15,28

50,00 6,25

78,73 6,38

65,63 6,24

85,72

72

80

47

96

14

Pieces

1,04

11

Table 4 also give us ground for explaining the above-mentioned deviations from the unified metrical pattern in the poetry of nomad poets, such as arafa and al-A‘sh , or Imru’ulqays. Prof. Grunebaum included arafa and al-A‘sh in the ran school, but, so to say, as associate, not full members, who combined in their verse two metrical techniques, which is exactly what we see from the figures in the Table 4. Table 5. Metrical Repertory of Umayyad poetry. Meters Descending: aw l w fir w fir (short) hazaj mutaq rib Total Ascending: bas k mil k mil (short) rajaz sar ‘ munsari mujtathth Total Intermediate: mad d ramal ramal (short) khaf f khaf f (short) Total

Akh

Jar

Far

Jam

Kuth

‘Um

Ruq

50,00 15,24

36,61 20,57

68,15 11,10

72,00 7,20

62,03 11,54

1,83 67,07

1,91 59,09

0,91 80,16

0,72 79,92

2,40 75,97

21,42 4,76 2,38 0,59 5,06 34,21

15,94 5,31 3,54 0,88 1,77 27,44

18,90 7,93

15,55 17,22

5,00 9,30

7,69 9,13

7,90

5,70

1,44 0,96 0,96

8,63 18,75 1,19 1,19 1,19 4,17

6,20 12,39 7,08

4,27

10,83 4,18 2,61 1,70

20,18

35,12

37,86 3,54 0,88 1,77 26,55 1,77 34,51

0,24 31,10

40,91

0,26 0,13 19,71

20,00

1,22

0,13

3,85

1,83

0,13

3,85

2,38 4,16 2,68 19,36 2,08 30,64

0,61

0,88 11,50

4 meters short forms

92,07 4,27

89,95 7,90

96,87 4,31

93,53 5,70

90,39 1,44

57,13 10,11

50,45 15,04

Pieces

164

418

766

152

208

336

113

12

It is noteworthy to mention that Prof. Blachère also spoke of arafa and al-A‘sh as poets of double cultural identity: Bedouin and

ran. Imru’ulqays,

whom Grunebaum characterized as a poet with the richest metrical repertory among all Pre-Islamic poets, acquired this advanced technique of versification from the years when he was a r w of Ab Du’ d. This assertion of Grunebaum makes Imru’ulqays, at least in the metrical aspect, the figure similar to arafa and al-A‘sh . If we add to the three already mentioned authors of mu‘allaqat ‘Ab d ibn al-Abra and ‘Antara, whose metrical repertory also shows affinity with

ran

pattern, we get the unexpected result: practically half of the group (5 out of 10) of the mu‘allaqat poets are connected with

ra as far as metric goes.

9. Table 5 shows that the poetical tradition born in

ra, although neglected

by literary critics and authors of anthologies, continued during the Umayyad time in the poetry of ‘Umar ibn Ab Rab ‘a (‘Um) and several minor poets of Medina, of whom Ibn al-Ruqayy t (Ruq) was chosen, though the main trends of Umayyad poetry: court panegyrics, represented by al-Akh al (Akh ), Jar r (Jar), al-Farazdaq (Far), and ‘Udhrite love poetry, represented by Jam l (Jam) and Kuthayyir (Kuth), continued metrically the Bedouin tradition. Table 5 shows that both metrical patterns were not only continued but even accentuated, as they were becoming the object of the conscious, deliberate cultivation. Our conclusion about ‘Umar as the poet continuing the tradition of ran poetry, if I am not mistaken, changes somehow the common view of the poet as an isolated figure in Umayyad poetry. If it is confirmed by analysis of other aspects of the poetry of ‘Umar, it can change our picture of the development of Arabic poetry during the Umayyad time. 10. The

ran metrical tradition even became the major trend in the

development of Arabic poetry during the ‘Abbasid period (VIII-IX centuries A.D.), as represented by muwallad n poets, who initiated the movement of bad ‘,

13

which seemed almost a revolution in the poetical art. It is not at all accidental that such poets as Bashsh r ibn Burd, Ab Nuw s, Muslim ibn al-Wal d, Ab 'l-‘At hiya and others, who continued and developed the tradition of the

ra school, were of Persian origin. Later, this metrical school

was represented by poetry of Abu Tamm m and al-Bu tur . Table 6. Metrical Repertory of ‘Abbasid Poetry. Bash

Mu

Salm

Nuw

‘Atah

Tam

Bu t

27,39 7,56 0,17 3,19 2,86

6,25 3,75 5,00 6,25 2,50

22,58 4,84

21,65 9,35 1,09 1,56 3,12

18,40 9,09 0,43 0,87 0,65

21,49 9,89 0,32 0,53 6,28

41,17

23,75

37,10

14,07 9,18 1,70 4,09 1,50 0,10 30,64

36,77

29,44

38,51

14,45 0,17 11,76 2,69 2,35 6,39 4,54 0,34

3,75 2,50 2,50 8,75 3,75 8,75 7,50 3,75

12,90 4,84 9,68 4,84 6,45 11,29 6,45

10,59 16,98 6,85 0,93 6,07 4,67 0,78

17,10 1,51 24,46 0,65 1,73 5,41 3,90 0,43

11,82 0,74 17,24 1,38 0,74 6,06 4,36 0,53

42,69

41,25

56,45

12,28 1,00 7,49 2,79 6,09 12,97 7,58 3,19 0,10 53,49

46,87

55,19

42,87

Intermediate: mad d ramal ramal (short) khaf f khaf f (short) Total

0,17 4,03 1,18 9,42 1,34 16,14

1,25 2,50 6,25 21,25 3,75 35,00

1,61

6,45

0,90 2,49 4,59 6,49 1,40 15,87

1,87 4,20 1,56 8,25 0,32 16,20

0,65 0,22 1,08 12,55 0,87 15,37

0,21 0,96 1,49 15,43 0,53 18,62

4 meters short forms

64,19 11,26

32,50 37,50

59,68 11,29

48,51 24,05

66,51 13,09

71,64 4,11

62,88 5,31

Meters Descending: aw l w fir w fir (short) hazaj mutaq rib mu ri‘ Total Ascending: bas bas (mukh) k mil k mil (short) rajaz sar ‘ munsari mujtathth muqta ab Total

9,68

4,84

14

Pieces

595

80

62

1002

642

462

940

It is clearly seen in Table 6, which gives data on Bashshar ibn Burd (Bash), Nuw s (Nuw), Ab 'l-‘At hiya (‘Atah), Mu ‘ ibn Iy s (Mu ), Salm

Ab

al-Kh sir (Salm) – data taken from Grunebaum's publication on three ‘Abbasid poets,14 Abu Tamm m (Tam), and al-Bu tur (Bu t). It cannot be deduced though that ‘Abbasid poets regarded themselves as successors of Ab Du’ d or ‘Ad ibn Zayd in the domain of metrics. On the contrary, their poetry was unanimously considered as breaking with the traditions of Pre-Islamic poetry which was represented for them by popular anthologies, such as Mu‘allaq t, Mufa aliyy t, A ma‘iyy t, Jamharat ash‘ r al-‘arab by Ab Zayd al-Qurash , abaq t al-shu‘ar ’ by al-Juma , and two

am sa's by

Ab Tamm m and al-Bu tur , all of them creating the image of the all-embracing Bedouin tradition which had very different metrics. The deliberateness of this process of creating the image of the uniform PreIslamic poetry, purely Bedouin, purely Arabic, becomes clear, if we compare metrical repertory of the two

amasa's with metrics of Abu Tamm m’s and al-

Bu tur ’s own poetry. This comparison, incidentally, makes it doubtful, that both poets were, as they are sometimes considered, the proponents of the classicist trend to restore the old times, to return to the Arabic Antiquity. 11. Table 7 provides data on the metrical repertory of two most outstanding poets of the 10th and 11th centuries A.D., who personified the acme of the Classical

Arabic poetry, al-Mutanabb and Ab 'l-‘Al ’ al-Ma‘arr contrasted

with that of poetry by the famous author of the Maqam t. It can be seen that they are examples of the balanced combination of the two metrical tendencies. Since then this metrical synthesis replaced the pure Bedouin

14

ibid.

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metrical tradition as the core of poetic art. Metrical repertory of al-Mutanabb and al-Ma‘arr , which can be called Classical, should be added to the two previous types as the third type.

Table 7. Metrics of al-Mutanabb , al-Ma‘arr , and al- ar r Meters Descending: aw l w fir w fir (short) hazaj mutaq rib Total Ascending: bas bas (mukhalla‘) k mil k mil (short) rajaz sar ‘ munsari mujtathth Total Intermediate: mad d ramal ramal (short) khaf f khaf f (short) Total 4 meters short forms

Mutanabb

Ma‘arr Saqt

Ma‘arr Luzum

21,83 16,55

31,86 15,04

23,23 13,56

7,75 46,13

3,54 50,44

0,44 6,55 43,88

15,14 1,76 14,79 0,70 3,17 2,46 6,34 0,35 44,71

10,61 0,89 16,81

ar r

9,36 3,51 1,17 4,09 7,60 25,73

41,60

25,05 1,57 13,82 0,56 0,25 6,21 2,95 0,19 50,60

8,19 3,51 3,51 12,28 13,45 11,70 2,34 6,43 61,41

9,16

7,07 0,89 7,96

0,19 0,57 0,12 4,58 0,06 5,52

0,58 2,34 7,60 2,34 12,86

70,77 4,22

75,21 4,43

77,79 1,62

41,53 42,10

4,43 6,20 2,66

1,06 8,10

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Pieces (total)

284

113

1592

171

On the contrary al- ar r in his Maqam t represents the extreme of the “Hiran” (or can it be called “Persian”?) metrical pattern. 12. Three types of the metrical repertory: ‘Abbasid, basically ancient

ran

(Type A), Bedouin (Type B), and Classical (Type C) were the legacy of the Classical Arabic poetry left to Arabic culture of later period. Their quantitative parameters are shown in Table 8. Table 8. Basic Metrical Types of Classical Arabic Poetry. Parameters 4 basic meters

Type A (‘Abbasid) 50-70%

Type B (Bedouin)

Type C (Classical)

around 90%

70-75%

tawil

10-25%

35-50%

20-30%

Descending meters

30-40%

60-70%

45-50%

30-50%

30-40%

45-50%

1:1,5(1-1,8)

2(1,5-2,5):1

1:1(0,9-1,1)

Intermediate meters

15-30%

0-5%

5-10%

Short forms

10-25%

2-8%

5-10%

Ascending meters Desc.:Asc.

If we return to the question of ‘Abbasid Anthologies, we can state that at the beginning of the process of written fixation it can be seen certain hesitancy as to what the ancient poetical legacy should look like, represented in the two variants of Mu‘allaqat collection: of 7 odes and of 10 poems, the first modelling ancient poetry as basically Bedouin tradition of Qa d, and the second giving more

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objective two-fold picture of this poetry. The first conception which was in conformity with Arabic mentality won, and afterwards generations of outstanding philologists compiled anthologies, which gave it a solid basis. This task being completed by the end of the 9th century, the science of poetry turned to other task – that of giving a comprehensive picture of Arabic Poetry in the unity of all its trends and periods. This other task was fulfilled by Ab 'l-Faraj al-Isfah n , whose anthology stood apart from the previous ones in many aspects, among them metrical aspect.