The Evolution of the Rajaz Meter in Modern Arabic Poetry, Al-Rajaz Poem as Narrative Poetry, as Reflected in the Works of Ṣalāḥ 'ABD AL-Ṣabūr. (23rd August 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Maysoon Fuad, Shibi
• Is Part Of: Journal of Semitic studies. Volume 64:Number 2(2019)
• Page Start: 583
• Page End: 603
• Publication Date: 2019-08-23
• Subjects: Semitic philology -- Periodicals; Jews -- Periodicals; 299.2
• DOI: 10.1093/jss/fgz028
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0022-4480

Abstract

Abstract: The rajaz meter has always been folkloric, from its inception to this day. It is easy to compose verses in it, so that poets used it to express the concerns of their nation, especially following the consecutive political defeats which the Arab world has experienced. Modern Arab poets use this meter in poems that express the concerns of the common people and urge them to stand together in the face of defeats and despotic, oppressive regimes. The rajaz meter allows them to write in one voice that represents the collective as a whole. The Egyptian poet Ṣalāḥ 'Abd al-Ṣabūr (1931–81) used the rajaz meter in an innovative manner, in a way that he succeeded in making an equilibrium between poetry and prose. This can be seen in his use of the rajaz meter to compose narrative poems, as we shall see in the present study.