Copyright
Adnan HaydarPublished On
2025-02-06Page Range
pp. 73–102Language
- English
Print Length
30 pages
4. The Role of Stress in the Scansion of Zajal Genres
- Adnan Haydar (author)
Chapter of: New Words to Old Tunes: Genres and Metrics of Lebanese Zajal Poetry(pp. 73–102)
The fourth chapter begins with a note on stress in fuṣḥā Arabic verse and zajal. The discussion and analysis exposes the weaknesses in previous criticism concerning the role of stress and leads to an important identification of two musical styles in scanning zajal lines: nathr al-naghamāt and naẓm al-naghamāt (musical prose and ordering of tones). An original methodology to be used in scanning macannā and qarrādī pieces to illustrate the workings of the two aforementioned systems is laid out. Most importantly, a framework for identifying stress in the rendition of macannā and qarrādī is constructed and explained, which superimposes musical stress on poetic stress.
Contributors
Adnan Haydar
(author)Head of the Arabic section in the department of world languages, literatures, and cultures and professor of Arabic and comparative literature at University of Arkansas at Fayetteville
Adnan Haydar is head of the Arabic section in the department of world languages, literatures, and cultures and professor of Arabic and comparative literature at the University of Arkansas, where he also founded and directed the King Fahd Middle East Studies Center from 1993 to 1999. His fields of specialization and areas of teaching include modern and classical Arabic literature, Arabic language, folk literature, and oral poetry. He has authored, co-authored and co-edited eight books, and is co-editor of the translation series for Syracuse University Press. His many articles on modern literary theory and oral poetry have appeared in premier literary journals.