Arab Poetry

The Arab poetry is of an immense richness and yet often ignored in the western world. On the one hand, it is very difficult to make a good translation making it possible to return the musical quality and the Arab beauty of the worms S. On the other hand, the current prejudices towards the Arab world prevent much from remembering that Arab civilization more than thousand-year-old also one of is refined and than it caused also inspiration for many poets of occident, fascinated by the East and the myths of Thousand and One Nights populating it…

The Arab Poésie draws from the world which surrounds it. It celebrates the Désert, not in its dryness but in its richness, the loneliness which it allows authorizing the man to be dreamed, to reflect, oases that it shelters being similar to as many Paradis on ground, distance reviving the memory of the beings that one likes… Arab poetry celebrates the Amour, the Beauté, the Désir without decency, false shame. The young girls are flowers there, gazelles which one courts, with which one sings of the praises. Fabulous descriptions are a pleasure for all the directions: the eyes cannot weary repaître of the beauty which is revealed by the worms, the sense of smell is delighted by all savors and perfumes which embaument the poems, one feels the freshness of an oasis, one hears the birds piailler and especially musical quality of the worms. The Towards are written to be read, the poets play with the words, creating new worlds, new Edens…

This control of the words making it possible to wake up all the directions is also put at the service of the satire or the Ironie. Certain poems are addressed to particular people, sometimes for the encenser, sometimes on the contrary to criticize it. The poets are kings and allow themselves to criticize no matter whom, largest not escaping their charming sarcastic remarks if they displeased to them…

Arab poetry, even several times centenary, is incredible of freedom and modernity…

Arab poetry is traditionally cut out in five periods:

  • the primitive time (of Ve century to the Hégire)

  • the Moslem time (622-750)
  • modernism and the neo-classicism (750-900)
  • provincialism (until the end of the XVIIIe century)
  • the contemporary era (since the middle of the XIXe century)

Some poets

The Arab meter

The meter S the most used in Arab poetry were codified in VIIIe century by Al-Khalil bin Ahmad and almost did not change since. The meter is based over the length of the syllables, there are short syllables (a consonant followed by a short vowel) and long syllables (a vowel followed by a consonant or a long vowel). Thus Arab poetry is not based only on the length of the towards and the Rime S but on a certain internal rate/rhythm with each line ( bayt ). Each bayt is divided into two halves ( shatr ) which would correspond to the worms of French poetry.

The various meters are distinguished from/to each other by the number of syllable and the order, the alternation of short and long syllables. But there exist often several variations of the same type of meter since two short syllables can be substituted by long for example…

Here some names of meters: tawil, kamil, to wafir, radjaz (form often employed at the time of improvisations), hazaj, basit, khafîf, sarî', moudari…

For more details on the concept of meter built on oppositions between short and long syllables, to consult this section of the article on the worms.

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