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Description in Classical Arabic Poetry

Waf, Ekphrasis, and Interarts Theory
Akiko Motoyoshi Sumi

October 2003
Hardback (xviii, 258 pp. 2 illus.)
ISBN:9789004129221
List price: 110 / $136

This volume deals with waf or description which is one of the salient characteristics of
the qadah (classical Arabic poetry) tradition. The Introduction offers the theoretical
background of waf and ekphrasis ("verbal representation of non-verbal texts" in its
modern sense) that can be considered a Western counterpart of waf. The main part of
the book examines descriptive passages in a selected group of Arabic qadah from
different ages (Jhil, Abbasid, Andalusian) with the motifs of horses, bees and honeygathering, visual artifacts, performance of song, and architecture. Approaching the Arabic
ode in light of modern Western critical theory, including the theories of ekphrasis and of
interarts studies, this work is original and innovative, so it leads to a new understanding of
a major form of traditional Arabic poetry.

E-ISBN:
Language:English, Arabic
Brill Studies in Middle Eastern

For more information see https://www.brill.com/bsme

Literatures, 25
Imprint:BRILL
Subject
Middle East and Islamic Studies
Literature

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