Poetic Necessity from the Perspective of the Medieval Arab Critics and Rhetoricians (Al-Darurah, Sibawayhi, Poetic Language, Qudamah Ibn Ja'far).

This research aims to study the concept of linguistic deviation in poetry and its relation to poetic language from the perspective of medieval Arab theorists (from the ninth through the thirteenth centuries). There was a controversy over the subjects of deviation in poetry, especially in the tenth century, involving linguistics usages in al-Mutanabb(')i's poetry. The basic motive for this study is that issue of deviation is an aspect of Medieval Arabic literary criticism which has yet to receive careful investigation. The concept of poetic necessity as discussed in this study represents many linguistic phenomena considered deviation by grammarians. This research employs historical methodology to determine whether there was development over the centuries in the opinion of the theorists on the subject. Chapter Two, following the introduction, examines the concept of poetic necessity, its types, the various opinions of medieval grammarians concerning it, as well as discussions of the subject in recent scholarship. The third chapter groups the opinions of theorists who for the most part consider the concept of poetic necessity as defective in poetry. The fourth chapter examines the important areas in which some of the phenomena of poetic necessity overlap with what was called majaz 'figurative and extended use of language' in the early writings about the Qur?an. These overlapping phenomena came to be considered aspects of rhetorical style and figures of speech in the later writing about Arabic rhetoric. The fifth chapter shows that there are certain instances of poetic necessity considered good at certain times. This chapter reviews the opinions of these critics where they have criteria showing when and how deviation is seen to be good. The sixth chapter traces the views of theorists concerning poetic language. It seems that most Arab theorists distinguish poetry from literary prose on many levels besides meter and rhyme. However, this distinction does not include linguistic usage. Many theorists view poetry as requiring perfection in language in the same way that prose does, and therefore they reject deviation in poetry. However, a group of them, as reflected in the writing of al-Marzuq(')i, considers poetry to have a distinctive language built on brevity, ambiguity, and concentration. Thus, in this view, deviation in poetry is one of its linguistic characteristics rather than a defect.PhDMiddle Eastern literatureUniversity of Michiganhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/160912/1/8612460.pd