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Preface
Modern Arabic poetry has, since the
middle of the twentieth century, been subjected to a large corpus of criticism,
perhaps far more than has any other literary genre in the Arab's modern times.
The reason lies in the fact that the 1940s and 1950s witnessed an unprecedented
turning point in the development of this forms and contents. Hundreds of books,
studies and articles have been published and this controversial topic is still
open to discussion. The debate does not only deal with the new poetic production
and the new styles, metres, images and
themes that prevailed following the revolutionary changes at the end of
the first half of the century, but it also concerns the modernizing movement
itself. It also tackles the attitudes, criticisms, and concepts which have
accompanied and theorized the movement and, more specifically, the poets who
launched the change. Central among these poets was the Iraqi poet Badr Shakir
Assayab, who is considered by the majority of Arab critics as the leading
figure in the process of Arabic poetry's modernization. Assayyab's poetry –
representing the modern movement – has, therefore, received a great deal of
critical attention. His experimentation and consequent poetic works enjoy a
strikingly new style varying the numbers of feet in verse line, and using
daring, unfamiliar images and new themes that seemed strange and alien. These
new approaches have generated many
arguments in the critical writings of the second half of the century. One sensitive issue in this regard is
the presumed strong influence T.S. Eliot had on many of Assayab's poems, and
this is the main concern of this book.
The book, however, does not stem from a hypothesis that emphasizes or
refutes the visibility of the said influence. In fact, it aims at examining tow
conflicting arguments on the scope, extent and nature of T.S. Eliot's
influence. Opinions emphasizing a strong, obvious and lasting influence are
examined against those emphasizing a mere skin-deep influence. The book also attempts
to arrive at conclusions that may add to what his previously been done. The
available critical literature will also be examined and analyzed to see if more
systematic approach is required to be shown towards to corresponding themes and
techniques in Eliot's { The Waste Land and Assayyab's Hymn of the Rain} . Such
a specific examination of Assayyab's masterpiece is required since it has so
far been subjected to criticism mainly leveled at the question of the influence
upon it.
The book will attempt to work out a conceptual framework based on
previous relevant literature. This framework will focus on finding answers to
certain questions related to the extent of the validity of the two conflicting
arguments, the substantiation of which calls for an examination of the issues
of both the time setting and the channels of influence. Besides, the
applicability of methods and tools developed in other relevant studies will be
tested throughout this book.
Another principal task in this book
is to examine the formal and thematic parallels between the works of the two
poets. The contextual comparisons that will be carried out are aimed at
investigating the visible similarities in themes, concepts and styles prevalent
in their poems against the different views of both sides of the argument.
Dr. Ghanim
Jasim Samarrai, Western Impact on Modern Arabic Poetry, A Postcolonial Reading
of T.S. Eliot's Influence on Badr Shakir Assayyab, Publications of The
Department of Culture & Information Government of Sharjah, 2009
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