Al-Mutanabbi

Margaret Larkin is Associate Professor of Near Eastern Studies, Berkeley University. Author of The Theology of Meaning: 'Abd al-Qahir al-Jurjani's Theory of Discourse, she has also written numerous scholarly articles on both classical and modern Arabic literature.

• Preface 1 OUT OF ARABIAArabian originsPoetic forms – the odeInvective and elegyPoets on the fringeIslam’s effect on poetryCentralization under the UmayyadsDiversity under the ‘AbbasidsConservatism in poetic tasteLate ‘Abbasid disintegration 2 GROWING PAINS Origins and early formationAl-Mutanabbi goes to BaghdadEarly career in SyriaRebellion and its aftermathAfter the fallAt Kharshani’s courtDeath of the poet’s grandmotherThe Ikhshidid connectionEye on the Hamdanid prize 3 GLORY DAYS IN ALEPPOThe Hamdanids of AleppoAl-Mutanabbi’s first ode to Sayf al-DawlahOccasional poems for the would-be patronDeath of Sayf al-Dawlah’s motherElegy on Abu’l-Hayja’The poet–patron relationshipDemands on the poetEpic occasionsTrouble in paradiseAl-Mutanabbi bites backAll good things ... 4 PARADISE LOSTFrom Aleppo to EgyptReluctant praiseAl-Mutanabbi demands his dueSaving face at AleppoKafur’s final refusalAngry satireOut of EgyptHome againSayf al-Dawlah in the wingsThe poet in PersiaThe Gap of BavvanTo the huntFinal call 5 CONTEMPORARY CRITICSAfter the fallLinguistic correctnessDiction and lexical choiceConstruction of the poemPhilosophizing in poetryThe limits of imaginationBorrowing versus plagiarismSumming up 6 THE HIGHEST FORM OF PRAISEAndalusian admirerKindred spiritsThe classical as innovationNeoclassical voiceModern echoes ConclusionSuggestions for further readingIndex