Hanged poems and their historical contexts

¶ … spread of Islamic culture came the spread of Arabic language all the way to Mesopotamia. The writer or writers of the Hanged Poems came from the extent and influence of Islam after 622 CE. From here the use of Arabic language in poetry became popular, seen in the Qu'ran, and places that demonstrated Islamic religion. The origins of the Hanged Poems comes from ka'aba, a temple in Mecca, central shrine of Islam, which possessed on its walls a variety of poems, "hanged" on the walls that show a different era and maybe reveals how or why some of the works are still mentioned and discussed today. Some of these "hanged poems," "The Poem of Imru- Ul- Quais" and "The Poem of Antar" were permitted to endure after the Muslim order was recognized because it provided valuable insight into the minds and lives of Muslims that lived in antiquity.

"The Poem of Imru- Ul- Quais" is believed to be the first and therefore oldest of the "hanged" poems. Similarly to the others, especially "The Poem of Antar," it changes brusquely from theme to theme, and is filled of elegiac associations. Indeed, the author of the poem is believed to have begun this style, endearing for himself the designation of "The creator of images." Some of these images, like the courtship of Unaizah and her carrying of the poet on the camel's back on a howdah was a way to depict scenes of a previous era, providing an image of how people imagined flirtation and wooing so many years ago. Much like the idea of romance lingered in this poem, so it did in "The Poem of Antar."

Antar became the most renowned of Arab protagonists of romance, making it an important point of information for the poem. As the poem progresses, it does, much like the previous poem, depict life for people in ancient times. For instance the discussion of marriage and avoiding marriage during war times. If people from different times wished to get married during war, they would face some obstacles. Along with this scene is the comparison of a camel's fleetness to an ostrich revealing the importance of camels, specifically, female camels.