The Development of its Genres and Criticism Lt aiTHE ARABIC LITERARY HERITAGE The development of its genres and criticism ROGER ALLE Tniversity of Pemngyteania CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESSPURLISHED BY TITE PRESS SYNDICATE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF GAMBRIDGE ‘The Pitt Building, Trumpington Street, Cambridge cn2 1p, United Kingdom CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS ‘The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge ene ako, United Kingdom 4o West 2oth Street, New York, wv r00tt-g211, USA. 10 Stamford Road, Oakleigh, Melbourne 3166, Australia © Cambridge University Press 1998 This book is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press, First published 1998 Printed in the United Kingdom at the University Press, Cambridge Typeset in 11/12.5 pt, Baskerville [vx] A catalogue record for this book is avilable from the British Library Library of Congress cataloguing in publication data Allen, Roger M. A. ‘The Arabic literary heritage / Roger Allen. p. om. Includes bibliographical references and index. 1spn 0 521 48066 3 (hardback) 1. Arabic literature-Hlistory and criticism. I. Title 2y7510. aad 1998 97-2730 892 709-po2r saw 0 521 48066 g hardback Contents Preface Note on translation, transliteration, and further reading Chronology An essay on precedents and principles ‘The contexts of the literary tradition Introduction ‘The physical context ‘The linguistic context ‘The historical context ‘The intellectual context Gonchusion The Qur’an: sacred text and cultural yardstick Introduction Structures Language and imagery ‘The role of sound ‘The Qur’an and Arabic literature Conclusion Poetry Introduction Poetry The poet ‘The poem ‘Themes Modern Arabic poetry Bellettristic prose and narrative Introduction vii ix xii xiv 1 u 12 "7 % 5 & 83 83 9 96 99 102 103 103 105 107 8 138 203 218 218