appearances and rites that distinguish them from lower classes. They purport
to appear in the most lavish and sophisticated appearances so nobody can
compete with them.” “Language itself,” he adds, “is deliberately complicated
to fit into their system” (Ibid. 193). A counter approach is to decode this
language and to replace it with one that uncovers and dissolves the mystique
of elitism. Hence comes his call for a counter consciousness:
Oppression by itself does not raise opposition unless there is an
accompanying consciousness of discontent. Here lies the role of
intellectuals as they call the spade a spade and tell the oppressed that
they are so, reiterating this until subdued sentiments explode and
history moves forward.
(Ibid. 296)These views did not pass without detailed refutations from other scholars in
the field like ‘Abd al-Razzmq Mu.ylal-Dln. The latter argued back, specify-
ing that contemporary poetry has a different story to tell, for “poets, in com-
parison to any educated class, are the least prone to condone corruption, and
exploitation (Ibid. 7).” While Allal-Wardlmade use of his training in soci-
ology to discuss neoclassical imitativeness as part of a hegemonic discourse,
his paradigms of elitism, exploitation, and grand literary works also partake
of the broad cultural consciousness of the 1950s that justified the Zanj(Black
slaves) revolt and dissent in general.
The significance of this early critique for the modernist endeavor emanates
from its use of other disciplines to probe literary tradition. It has also the
tendency to question rather than offer absolute answers to pending issues.
It prepares the way for further efforts to go ahead in a re-thinking of literary
history. The critical endeavor worked in the hands of Adnnls and others as a
deconstructionist effort.^46 In this sense, “historicity means the use of knowledge
about the past as a means of breaking with it—or, at any rate, only sustaining
what can be justified in a principled manner,” argues Giddens. He further
argues, “Historicity in fact orients us primarily towards the future.”^47 At a later
stage, especially since the 1960s, poets have developed a retrospective mind
that makes use of introspection to come to terms with both their grounding
in the classical tradition and the emerging consciousness, as Adnnls’ experi-
ence demonstrates. The connection between Gibrmn’s daring experimentation
in language and poetics prepared the way for the Adnnlsian critique which is
still popular with the young generations all over the Arab world.
Gibrmn’s innovationThe early romantics of the Dlwmn School were not as rebellious as the
Adnnlsian prototype of the early 1950s. In their times, there was a new
sensibility, receptive to change and innovation.^48 The same is true of the
POETIC TRAJECTORIES: CRITICAL INTRODUCTION