Al-Mutanabbi: Voice of the ‘Abbasid Poetic Ideal

FRONT COVER......Page 1
TITLE PAGE......Page 4
COPYRIGHT......Page 5
DEDICATION......Page 6
CONTENTS......Page 8
PREFACE......Page 12
ARABIAN ORIGINS......Page 18
POETIC FORMS – THE ODE......Page 19
INVECTIVE AND ELEGY......Page 20
POETS ON THE FRINGE......Page 21
ISLAM’S EFFECT ON POETRY......Page 22
CENTRALIZATION UNDER THE UMAYYADS......Page 24
DIVERSITY UNDER THE ‘ABBASIDS......Page 25
CONSERVATISM IN POETIC TASTE......Page 27
LATE ‘ABBASID DISINTEGRATION......Page 28
ORIGINS AND EARLY FORMATION......Page 32
AL-MUTANABBI GOES TO BAGHDAD......Page 34
EARLY CAREER IN SYRIA......Page 37
REBELLION AND ITS AFTERMATH......Page 40
AFTER THE FALL......Page 42
AT KHARSHANI’S COURT......Page 43
DEATH OF THE POET’S GRANDMOTHER......Page 44
THE IKHSHIDID CONNECTION......Page 47
EYE ON THE HAMDANID PRIZE......Page 48
THE HAMDANIDS OF ALEPPO......Page 50
AL-MUTANABBI’S FIRST ODE TO SAYF AL-DAWLAH......Page 52
OCCASIONAL POEMS FOR THE WOULD-BE PATRON......Page 58
DEATH OF SAYF AL-DAWLAH’S MOTHER......Page 60
ELEGY ON ABU’L-HAYJA’......Page 63
THE POET–PATRON RELATIONSHIP......Page 67
DEMANDS ON THE POET......Page 69
EPIC OCCASIONS......Page 71
TROUBLE IN PARADISE......Page 74
AL-MUTANABBI BITES BACK......Page 77
ALL GOOD THINGS .........Page 78
FROM ALEPPO TO EGYPT......Page 80
RELUCTANT PRAISE......Page 83
AL-MUTANABBI DEMANDS HIS DUE......Page 86
SAVING FACE AT ALEPPO......Page 89
KAFUR’S FINAL REFUSAL......Page 90
ANGRY SATIRE......Page 92
OUT OF EGYPT......Page 93
HOME AGAIN......Page 95
SAYF AL-DAWLAH IN THE WINGS......Page 97
THE POET IN PERSIA......Page 101
THE GAP OF BAVVAN......Page 104
TO THE HUNT......Page 110
FINAL CALL......Page 112
AFTER THE FALL......Page 114
LINGUISTIC CORRECTNESS......Page 115
DICTION AND LEXICAL CHOICE......Page 116
CONSTRUCTION OF THE POEM......Page 118
PHILOSOPHIZING IN POETRY......Page 120
THE LIMITS OF IMAGINATION......Page 122
BORROWING VERSUS PLAGIARISM......Page 124
SUMMING UP......Page 126
6. THE HIGHEST FORM OF PRAISE......Page 130
ANDALUSIAN ADMIRER......Page 131
KINDRED SPIRITS......Page 133
THE CLASSICAL AS INNOVATION......Page 134
NEOCLASSICAL VOICE......Page 138
MODERN ECHOES......Page 139
IN ARABIC......Page 148
IN ENGLISH......Page 149
IN OTHER LANGUAGES......Page 151
INDEX......Page 152