Aesthetics of Repetition Structure in the Ascetic Poetry of Abū l-Atahiyya
Hussan Bkor, Arabic Dept., Al-Hussen University, Ma’an, Jordan.
Fuad Shtyat, Arabic Dept., Jarash University, Jarash, Jordan.
Abstract
This paper aims at unraveling the aesthetics of repetition in the ascetic poetry of Abū l-Atahiyya. It first sets out to review the concept of repetition and its benefits in previous critical studies. The prime focus of this paper is the analysis of repetition based on its formal and contextual structures. Therefore, this paper carries out three levels of analysis on repetition. First, the repetition of a lexical item holding a central meaning in an ode or Qasida, which constantly inspires the poet, and revealing its connotative and psychological reference and its effect on the structure of the ode and unveiling its aesthetics. Second, the repetition of some grammatical features such as the interrogative and the vocative case. Third, repetition in a number of selected sentences and at a number of acoustic levels and its incantatory reiteration. At this level, the traditional rhetorical term is exploited as well as its verbal strategy in unraveling the ideological content and aesthetical presence in Abū l-Atahiyya's ascetic poetry.