Leila and Destiny Reading of Al-Sanawbary's Poem: Elegy on the death of his daughter Elegy of his Daughter
Ehsan Sadiq Allawati, Department of Arabic Language, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Oman.
Abstract
This study intends to critically read Al-Sanawbary's poem (a poet of the Abbasi era who died in 334 H) which was an elegy on the death of his daughter, Leila. The poem is well-known and has been described as the most grievous poem. This paper adopts a close-reading technique analyzing the aesthetic and psychological dimensions without distorting the text itself in any manner. This has been done in light of believing that the function of a modern literary critic goes beyond just reading a text superficially; his function is to read it critically and actively, especially if the text itself requires to be reorganized. This study aims to critically scrutinize the poem so its readers are able to comprehend all its aspects and dimensions which can’t be attained if the poem remains in its original state.