The Muwāzana of al-Āmidī
<p>This study serves as an introduction to al-Āmidī's critical thought and to one version of a hitherto unpublished section of <em>al-Muwāzana</em>, Cambridge University Library Ms. Qq286 (which is reproduced in anno- tated form, Appendix, D). It also examines some of the mai...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | Arabic English |
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1983
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| Subjects: |
| _version_ | 1797101886582554624 |
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| author | Ashtiany, J Ashtiany, Julia |
| author_facet | Ashtiany, J Ashtiany, Julia |
| author_sort | Ashtiany, J |
| collection | OXFORD |
| description | <p>This study serves as an introduction to al-Āmidī's critical thought and to one version of a hitherto unpublished section of <em>al-Muwāzana</em>, Cambridge University Library Ms. Qq286 (which is reproduced in anno- tated form, Appendix, D). It also examines some of the main trends in the recent study and evaluation of 'Abbasid criticism,of which <em>al- Muwāzana</em> has, in the Arab world, become a focus.</p> <p>The Appendix (A-C) discusses editions and manuscript versions of the text, providing a reconstruction of the jumbled Ms. Qq286, and concludes that those portions of the work previously considered lost are most probably to be looked for in a different form - that of complementary rather than consecutive texts, fragments of one of which are already available in the footnotes to AZZĀM's standard edition of the <em>Diwan</em> of Abū Tammam; these are examined in some detail.</p> <p>Textual problems are also examined, in the light of related problems of interpretation, in Chapter I, in which the structure of the surviving portions of <em>al-Muwāzana</em>, which has often been considered haphazard, is shown to serve a specific didactic purpose consistent with the details of al-Āmidī's practical criticism. Chapter II_looks at this framework in greater detail, showing to what extent Āmidī is bound by inherited techniques, but also in what ways he succeeds in promoting a novel and rigorous definition of the scope of criticism. Chapter III continues Chapter II's scrutiny of the details of al-Āmidī's critical method, and explores the key element in al-Āmidī's critical thought, the notion of poetry as 'truth'; Chapter IV shows how he attempts to justify this notion in historical terms, and how, in so doing, he succeeds - where Ibn Ṭabāṭabā had earlier failed - in establishing poetic 'truth' as a general concept of some versatility. One of the concerns of Chapters II to IV is thus to reassess al-Āmidī's originality in the light of his transformation of earlier criticism, the nature of his debt to which- has often been misunderstood. The other is to reply to the question raised in the Introduction - what is the value of 'Abbasid criticism? can we afford to neglect it in favour of a direct approach to Arabic poetry? - by contrasting al-Āmidī's conception of the relationship between critic, reader and text with the concerns which dominate Arabic literary studies today. These are shown not to be without weaknesses and inconsistencies; the conclusion suggests that al-Āmidī's concern with poetic 'realism' - a contrast is implied with the current interest in the 'phantastic' and 'baroque' elements in 'Abbasid poetry - might provide fruitful ground for future literary research.</p> |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T05:58:17Z |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oxford-uuid:eb46fd43-82e7-4300-b7a9-6aaff1ac9ab1 |
| institution | University of Oxford |
| language | Arabic English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T05:58:17Z |
| publishDate | 1983 |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | oxford-uuid:eb46fd43-82e7-4300-b7a9-6aaff1ac9ab12022-03-27T11:08:30ZThe Muwāzana of al-ĀmidīThesishttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_db06uuid:eb46fd43-82e7-4300-b7a9-6aaff1ac9ab1Criticism750-1258Arabic literatureHistoryHistory and criticismArabicEnglishPolonsky Theses Digitisation Project1983Ashtiany, JAshtiany, Julia<p>This study serves as an introduction to al-Āmidī's critical thought and to one version of a hitherto unpublished section of <em>al-Muwāzana</em>, Cambridge University Library Ms. Qq286 (which is reproduced in anno- tated form, Appendix, D). It also examines some of the main trends in the recent study and evaluation of 'Abbasid criticism,of which <em>al- Muwāzana</em> has, in the Arab world, become a focus.</p> <p>The Appendix (A-C) discusses editions and manuscript versions of the text, providing a reconstruction of the jumbled Ms. Qq286, and concludes that those portions of the work previously considered lost are most probably to be looked for in a different form - that of complementary rather than consecutive texts, fragments of one of which are already available in the footnotes to AZZĀM's standard edition of the <em>Diwan</em> of Abū Tammam; these are examined in some detail.</p> <p>Textual problems are also examined, in the light of related problems of interpretation, in Chapter I, in which the structure of the surviving portions of <em>al-Muwāzana</em>, which has often been considered haphazard, is shown to serve a specific didactic purpose consistent with the details of al-Āmidī's practical criticism. Chapter II_looks at this framework in greater detail, showing to what extent Āmidī is bound by inherited techniques, but also in what ways he succeeds in promoting a novel and rigorous definition of the scope of criticism. Chapter III continues Chapter II's scrutiny of the details of al-Āmidī's critical method, and explores the key element in al-Āmidī's critical thought, the notion of poetry as 'truth'; Chapter IV shows how he attempts to justify this notion in historical terms, and how, in so doing, he succeeds - where Ibn Ṭabāṭabā had earlier failed - in establishing poetic 'truth' as a general concept of some versatility. One of the concerns of Chapters II to IV is thus to reassess al-Āmidī's originality in the light of his transformation of earlier criticism, the nature of his debt to which- has often been misunderstood. The other is to reply to the question raised in the Introduction - what is the value of 'Abbasid criticism? can we afford to neglect it in favour of a direct approach to Arabic poetry? - by contrasting al-Āmidī's conception of the relationship between critic, reader and text with the concerns which dominate Arabic literary studies today. These are shown not to be without weaknesses and inconsistencies; the conclusion suggests that al-Āmidī's concern with poetic 'realism' - a contrast is implied with the current interest in the 'phantastic' and 'baroque' elements in 'Abbasid poetry - might provide fruitful ground for future literary research.</p> |
| spellingShingle | Criticism 750-1258 Arabic literature History History and criticism Ashtiany, J Ashtiany, Julia The Muwāzana of al-Āmidī |
| title | The Muwāzana of al-Āmidī |
| title_full | The Muwāzana of al-Āmidī |
| title_fullStr | The Muwāzana of al-Āmidī |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Muwāzana of al-Āmidī |
| title_short | The Muwāzana of al-Āmidī |
| title_sort | muwazana of al amidi |
| topic | Criticism 750-1258 Arabic literature History History and criticism |
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