A Weak Point in a Strong Chain

All through its long history, the Arabic theory of literature has oscillated between intuitiveness and tortuous analytical discourse. Discernible in the native theorists' interpretation of sources is an engaging spectacle of startling divergences that sometimes verged on contradiction. Their efforts at establishing a definitive pattern of characterization in regard to a number of literary phenomena were not rarely confusing. Attributing this to some deficiency in the theoretical mechanism of the literary culture or to the differences between the routine idiom and the poetic koine will probably not be a misjudgement (Cf Kurolowicz, p. 163ff.). An eloquent illustration can be seen in the theoretical discourse over the prosodical defect known as i*jh', the development of which is examined in this investigation. The veridical meaning of ika' is to deviate or divert something from a straight course, as used by Da al-Rumma (d. 117/735) in this verse (Da al-Rumma, p. 789, line 19)

Arabic · Art · Contradiction · Epistemology · Interpretation (philosophy · Linguistics · Literature · Meaning (existential · Poetics · Poetry · Historical and Linguistic Studies · Historical, Religious, and Philosophical Studies · History · Islamic Studies and History · Philosophy