Copyright

Adnan Haydar

Published On

2025-02-06

Page Range

pp. 129–192

Language

  • English

Print Length

64 pages

6. ʿAtābā, Mījanā, and Other Popular Genres

  • Adnan Haydar (author)
Chapter of: New Words to Old Tunes: Genres and Metrics of Lebanese Zajal Poetry (pp. 129–192)

The sixth chapter lays out a thorough discussion of the musical transcription and scansion of cAtāba and Mījana – the two most popular genres – and several other popular genres, including the short, middle and long Qaṣīd, al-Ḥida, al-Nadb (funeral tunes), al-Ḥawrabah, al-Zalghaṭa, Abu al-Zuluf, al-Shurūqi, al-Mawwāl al-Baghdādī, al-Mukhammas al-Mardūd, etc. Also included in the discussion is the incorporation of oral-formulaic strategies by poets and an emphasis on the importance of musical meter to the composition of these genres and the effects of musical stress on poetic and natural linguistic stress patterns.

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.