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The Case of the Dialogic Qasida: Bashshar ibn Burd's Ba'iyyah
Abstract
Out of Bashshar ibn Burd's body of work, his well known ba'iyyah (ode in ba' rhyme) is probably his only qasida that could have reached canonical status. The books of literary records never fail to make a mention of it as a testimony to Bashshar's poetic prowess. However, the discussion of this ode in particular has been reduced to a fascination with one of its visual verses that contains, without a doubt, a most striking double-simile and the wonder this image evokes for being the construction of a blind poet. First of all, the paper will reflect on the implications of focusing on this line as it works to reinforce the notion of "the blind poet." On a poetic level, the double-simile we find in this famous line is only one example in this ode of a complex process of constructing multiple narratives in a particularly monologic genre such as the qasida. In this light, I hope to demonstrate in this paper the significance of this double-construction in this particular qasida as relates to Bashshar's position in-between two cultures. By showing how Bashshar subverts major canonical qasidas in order to express a double-consciousness of sorts the paper will demonstrate how the poet manipulates the qasida as a genre. Bashshar's identification with two cultures was not merely achieved explicitly. On a much deeper level this hybrid expression was part of the very build up of his poetic creation. In other words, Bashshar was able to use the qasida for expressing one thing and its opposite at once and by doing so Bashshar was able to negotiate his position between two cultures, giving expression to both and canceling both at the same time.
Discipline
Literature
Geographic Area
None
Sub Area
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