Department of Arabic Language and Literature
Subject: The Narrative in the Nasīb in Ancient Arabic Poetry
Supervisor: Prof. Albert Arazi and Prof. Meir Bar-Asher
Abstract: Pre-Islamic and early Islamic poetry was generally composed by poets belonging to various tribes from the Arabian Peninsula. The essential form of this poetic tradition named “ḳasīda,” a poly-thematic ode which is subordinate to rigid conventions usually consists of three parts: The first part is known as “nasīb”. As a general rule, nasīb denotes the conventional and sentimental opening of the ḳasīda, in which the poet, while preoccupied with sadness, recalls a previous love affair that had left an indelible impression on his heart. In my study I examine the forms of the nasīb from a narratological perspective and shed light on the scheme of its narrative components, such as the poet-narrator, plot, characters, space, et cetera.
Presidential Stipend 2012/13