Arabic poetry has been central to Arabic culture for millennia. Early Arabic poetry before Islam was not narrowly tribal, but engaged with ancient Egyptian, Persian, and Greek ideas. Christianity, which was prevalent in Arabia before Islam, figured importantly in early Arabic poetry. In the enormous, cosmopolitan civilization of the Abbasid caliphate, Arabic poetic fluency played a crucial role in determining a person’s social status.
The classical Arabic story of al-Farazdaq and the medieval fabliau Le Chevalier Qui Fesoit Les Cons Parler intricately address nude, bathing maidens. … Read the post nude, bathing maidens: classical Arabic poetry and fabliau
Nazhun, a twelfth-century woman poet from Granada, wrote a love poem (muwashshah) that illustrates key points of heterosexual seduction. … Read the post Nazhun's muwashshah & successful heterosexual seduction
In al-Khansa’s lament, God keeps mountains immovable against streams of tears. She may have refigured the Gospel figure of moving immovable mountains. … Read the post immovable mountains in al-Khansa & the Gospels
The early Arabic poet Layla l-Akhyaliyya, like eminent medieval European women writers, challenged the oppressive position of men. … Read the post bleeding warrior & worker drone in Layla l-Akhyaliyya's poetry
Both obscenity and abusive expression surely were less repressed in the ancient Islamic world than in the United States today. … Read the post abusive expression less repressed in ancient Islamic world