ABU RISHA 173romanticism. In it Abu Shadi is made to recite lines written by Abu Risha
on the Mahjar free-verse writer Amin al-Rihani which reveal Abu Risha's
conception of the poet as a winged creature of light, an inspired being to
whom are revealed the secrets of the universe, a child of nature to whom she
discloses all her beauties and attractions.^143 This is the romantic conception
of the poet which we have already encountered in the work of other roman-
tics.
Abu Risha's poetry shows clearly the blend of Arab and western culture
which he received. During his residence in England he was able to acquire
first-hand knowledge of western thought and literature. The influence on
him of the second generation of the English Romantics (Keats, Shelley and
Byron) is pervasive, particularly that of Keats whose Ode on a Grecian Urn
left its mark on at least two poems 'A Woman and a Statue' and 'Kagyurpa'.
Baudelaire's ambivalent attitude to woman is reflected in some form or
another in many of Abu Risha's poems.^144 Like Shabbi, he displays an
admirable command of the Arabic language, and more than in the case of any
other romantic poet so far discussed, his language attains a degree of crisp-
ness, hardness and precision which is almost classical. Although he is well
versed in the Arabic poetic tradition of which he is extremely proud, it is
obviously the 'romantic' streaks in this tradition which appeal to him most:
the pessimism of al-Ma'arri, his rebellion against the human condition,
or the morbid sensibility of Dik al- Jinn of Hims, who is said to have killed
the woman he loved in a fit of jealousy (as a result of his realization of his
impotence) and to have made his drinking cup out of the ashes of her burnt
body. This story of Dik al-Jinn provided the theme of one of Abu Risha's
poems, 'Dik al-Jinn's Drinking Cup',^145 which he has included in every sub-
sequent volume of verse that he has published.
Al-Ma'arri provides the epigraph as well as the conclusion to the first
work in Abu Risha's first volume of verse, a short verse drama entitled Tlood'.
Al-Ma'arri's line signifies that the world is in need of a flood to cleanse it
and wash away its sins. The scene is a tavern where we meet the landlord,
a waiter, a crowd of drunken men, and a young debauched man who spurns
his wife and turns to a prostitute. A poor man comes in begging, but he is
promptly turned away, then a couple of merchants enter quarrelling. A
mad priest comes in and begins to preach to all the sinners and warns against
God's wrath and His impending punishment by means of a Flood. At this
moment a storm breaks out accompanied by thunder and torrential rain.
When the scared waiter reports a flood they all believe it is the flood pro-
phesied by the priest. This produces a dramatic change in them, for they
all repent. But as soon as the storm passes they mock the priest and every-