The development of <italic>ma'na</italic> as a measure of literary merit in classical Arabic criticism: The question of loyalty to the tradition.

Abstract

The term <italic>ma'na</italic> (meaning; image or literary conceit) has occupied a unique position as a category in both Arabic-Islamic literary criticism and rhetoric from their very inception. From the third century AH (Hijra)/ninth century CE (Common Era) up until the fifth century/eleventh century, the term had appeared in many Arabic philological disciplines, especially lexicography and grammar. With time, however, the concept of <italic>ma'na</italic> came to be recognized as belonging specifically to the fields of <italic>balagha</italic> (eloquence or rhetoric) and <italic>al-naqd al-adabi</italic> (literary criticism). The Arabic literary tradition of the period under discussion distinguished between two elements of poetic narrative: <italic>lafz&uml;</italic>, which signifies word phrase, verbal utterance, or simply literary <italic>form</italic>, and secondly, <italic> ma'na</italic>, which denoted poetic meaning or literary <italic>content</italic>. As time went on, medieval Arab literary theorists established a rather rigid division between <italic> lafz&uml;</italic> and <italic>ma'na</italic> in evaluating literary works, especially poetry. The dichotomy of <italic>lafz&uml;</italic> and <italic> ma'na</italic> came to serve as a primary measure the beauty of a given literary piece. It was closely linked to the two principal tendencies in statements about literary merit. The first springs from personal preference or taste that need no explanation or justification; they belong to a complex of emotional processes. The second, is determined by more objective standards such as linguistic and rhetorical figures of speech that were at play in the critic's evaluation of a literary text. I argue that classical critics were well aware of this cognitive-emotive duality and believed that this awareness allowed to avoid partiality in dealing with literary texts. Throughout, pre-Islamic poetic canon loomed very much in the minds of Arab literary critics. Therefore, this study begins with a discussion of the oral period of the Arab literary tradition that shaped all subsequent literary and critical theories. We suggest that this golden age influenced these theories in two major ways. The first has to do with the oral nature of this early poetry. The second---with the notion of <italic>functionality </italic>, that is, literary works, especially poetry were not composed to entertain or to amuse its audience, but to serve a complex social and cultural system. I then proceed to discuss the ways in which the development of <italic> ma'na</italic> went hand in hand with the changing literary tastes. In response to these changing perceptions of literary beauty and elegance the major literary figures of the age strove to establish a balanced, neutral concept of literary merit that would minimize the role of personal proclivities.