Poetry of al-Mutanabbi: Intro

3 Credits · Level: Graduate, Undergraduate

This course will take the poetry of the most celebrated of the classical Arabic poets, al-Mutanabbi, as an introduction to classical Arabic poetry. It will focus on close readings of poetic texts to explore how al-Mutanabbi used the classical poetic form to create a dynamic and dramatic persona for himself as poet, hero and warrior. We will explore how he employed the poetics of praise and blame to negotiate rank and status and to confer and retract allegiance in the complex political landscape of the 4th/10th century, such as the courts of Sayf al-Dawlah in Aleppo and Kāfūr al-Ikhshīdī in Egypt. Class time will be devoted to close reading and translation (into English) of selected poems; class discussion will be primarily in Arabic. Additional readings in English and Arabic will be assigned according to students’ Arabic levels and interests. Final projects, which may be translations or research papers, will be selected in consultation with the instructor.