Arabic Poetry Arabic Is Among the Youngest

Arabic Poetry

Arabic is among the youngest of the Semitic languages, emerging around the fourth century C.E. And rising to prominence only after the death of Muhammad. The spread of Islam enabled the growth of the Arabic language, giving rise to its first literary manifestations. The earliest forms of Arabic language poetry were oral, "memorized and handed down from one generation to another," only written towards the end of the seventh century including the pre-Islamic poems of the nomadic peoples ("Arabic Literature: Introduction," n.d.). Some pre-Islamic poets like Imru' al-Qays have reached "legendary" status (Farrin, 2011, p.2). The pre-Islamic stage of Arabic language poetry is roughly classified as lasting between 500 and 622 CE and the rise of Islam. Although pre-Islamic poetry is the poetry of the nomadic, tribal Semitic peoples, it is neither narrative nor epic in nature (Badawi, 1975). Instead, themes like death, honor, and heroism are explored from the perspective of the tribe (Badawi, 1975).

Arabic poetry reached its zenith after the birth and flowering of Islam. The period from about 500 CE to 1250 CE are the bookends of the age of Classical Arabic poetry; that was as well as the Golden Age of Islam. This expansive era included a stunning variety of poetic arts in Arabic, and thus is further divided into Early Islamic and Umayyad to the fall of the Umayyad in 750 CE, followed by the Abbasid (750-1258 CE), Malmuk (1258-1516), and Ottoman (1516-1798) periods. Arabic poetry after 1798 is generally classified as modern.

Arabic poetry emphasizes meter, rhythm, and rhyme more than the semantic content of its verse ("Arabic Literature: Introduction," n.d.). Since the eighth century, Arabic poetry meters have been strictly codified and vary little ("Arabic Literature: Introduction," n.d.). Contemporary critics from the classical world, testified to the unparalleled "eloquence" of the Arabs (Farrin, 2011, p. xiii). That eloquence is renowned around the Arab-speaking world, and Arabic language poetry is strikingly unique, unlike the poetry of English and other European languages. The lack of thematic cohesion within poems is an oft-cited criticism of Arabic poetry, in spite of the obvious lyricism and musicality the genre offers (Farrin, 2011). In general, Arabic poetry is shorter than its European counterparts; and emphasis is more on the sound and patterns of sound than on actual semantics, theme, or content. This is not true of all Arabic language poetry, of course. Arabic poems with strong thematic elements such love abound, especially during the modern era. There is in fact a word for the independent love poem, ghazal, which has its roots in pre-Islamic odes (Farrin, 2011).

Jamil was one of the first Islamic Arabic poets, kick starting centuries of poetry that testified to themes of religious devotion and submission to God (Farrin, 2011). Just as the religion of Islam spread throughout the region, permeating into Persia and areas beyond the Arabic world, so too did Arabic language begin to flourish as a means to disseminate culture and cultural values. Arabic language poetry carried with it the signs, symbols, and motifs of Islam. This helped to bring the emotion and sentiment of everyday religious devotion and Muslim mysticism to the reader, regardless of geography. Sufism is replete with examples of devotional poetry; although Sufism's most famous poet wrote not in Arabic but in Persian.