The pre-romantics
Mutran
The revolt against the limitations imposed by the neoclassical conventions
goes back as far as the turn of the century, if not earlier still. The germs of it
could certainly be seen in the work of Faransis Marrash and Rizq Allah
Hassun, minor poets who in what was then known as Syria, attempted to
revolutionize themes, diction and imagery in modem Arabic poetry.^1 But
for our present purpose it is convenient to start with a major figure like Mut-
ran who both in theory and in much of his practice showed his dissatisfaction
with classical conventions. In previous attempts to describe the development
of modem Arabic poetry I have called Mutran a pre-romantic poet.^2 The term
is perhaps a little misleading, since it may suggest that the only or chief value
of Mutran's poetry lies in its foreshadowing of something to come, something
much more important and valuable. I should like at the outset to dispel
any such suggestion. That Mutran is less important than any of the poets who
precede or succeed him in this survey is completely untrue; that he is, on the
contrary, one of the most gifted modem Arabic poets is beyond any doubt.
The late distinguished author and critic Taha Husain once described him as
'the leader of modem Arabic poetry and the teacher of all contemporary poets
without exception'.^3 The term 'pre-romantic' is chosen here not to convey any
value judgment, but to describe, for lack of a more convenient term, a num-
ber of qualities in Mutran's poetry, which will be dealt with later.
Khalll Mutran (1872—1949) was a versatile genius who distinguished him-
self in a number of fields: in journalism, in finance and commerce, in agricul-
tural economy, no less than in poetry. He was born in Baalbek and after
receiving his elementary education in a primary school in Zahla he was sent
to the Catholic seminary in Beirut where he learnt French and obtained a
solid grounding in Arabic language and literature, under the distinguished