Makamat or Rhetorical Anecdotes: Of Al Hariri of Basra (Classic Reprint) - Tapa blanda

Excerpt from Makamat or Rhetorical Anecdotes: Of Al Hariri of Basra

Nothing is to be found corresponding with those bold and sublime efforts of English poesy, which, as if fearing to be hampered by the trammels of rhyme, have arrayed themselves in the plain but majestic attire of blank verse. An Eastern poet who should neglect to assume the elaborate ornaments of style prescribed by established custom, would at once be condemned unheard, on the score of indolence or incapacity. For such negligence no excel lence of ideas could atone in the eyes of his countrymen. 'if his conceptions are fine,' they would say, 'why does he not make the exertion requisite to produce them in a more worthy and elegant form.

About the Publisher

Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com

This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Excerpt from Makamat or Rhetorical Anecdotes: Of Al Hariri of Basra

The work of Hariri which is the subject of the following pages has been denominated "the most classical in Arabic literature," and "a master-piece of elegance and refinement." Nor are these appellations unmerited. In elaborate execution and ornateness of style the Makamat are perhaps unrivalled; they have always been regarded in the East as models of accuracy; and the design with which they were written was purely literary, namely, to display the vast resources of the Arabic language, to exemplify the most difficult methods of composition, and to embody in a series of rhythmical and metrical anecdotes all the refinements of grammar, rhetoric, poetry, history, and tradition, that the authors extensive learning could supply.

To this design the subject-matter of the work is entirely subordinate, the characters and incidents being selected not for their intrinsic interest or value, but merely as forming a suitable occasion and groundwork for the exhibition of recondite learning and rhetorical skill.

About the Publisher

Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com

This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.