Arabic Pre-Islamic Poetry

3 credits · Undergraduate

This course offers an overview of the best pieces of the earliest poetry composed in Arabic language, in the Arabian Peninsula, within a period which preceded Islam. It focuses on the so-called "Suspended Poems" (Al-Mu'allaqat), considered as the master-pieces of seven (or ten, according to different sources) Arabian poets such as Imru'al-Qays, Tarafa, Antara, Zuhayr, etc. CALENDAR NOTES: This course will be offered in English and is based on English translations of the poems. The course does not require previous notions or knowledge of the Arabic language. The required bibliography will be in English as well. CROSSLISTED: CLAS 3100 RESTRICTIONS: Students must be beyond the first year of study. FORMATS: Lecture | Seminar