poetic enunciations or parts, al-Baymtldevelops a number of paradigmatic
stations, which borrow al-Macarrl’s well-known positions. However, al-Baymtl
concentrates on the polarity between the State, with its corrupt mechanism,
and genuine poetry. The State is the emir of old times whose whims materialize
in extreme measures. The poet has to challenge these, to suffer punishment
and ridicule. However, al-Macarrl, in the same poem, is the one who comes
upon self-imposed seclusion as a solution to escape these tides.
It was a profligate time, without borders
Poets were drowned in it, they were sheep
And you were the soothsayer among them
You were at the feast of the wicked
An eyewitness to an age of darknessAl-Baymtlmanipulates paradigms of corruption and revolt according to a
careful reading of al-Macarrl, especially his early decision to abandon panegyric
poetry because of its need for adornments, that is, “lies and dubiousness.”^34
Using the title of al-Macarrl’s dlwmn Siqyal-zandfor this section, al-Baymtl
concludes with an ironic rephrasing of al-Macarrl’s objection to “adornment
of speech through lies.”^35 Al-Baymtlapplies this measurement to panegyrics,
especially whenever they purport to meet the whims and predilections of
corrupt authority. “The .amzahrhyme is a lame mule / Ridden by the emir
every dark menacing night.”^36 Nevertheless, using the title Saqyal-zandis
not a random choice insofar as al-Baymtlis concerned. Al-Macarrl’s explicatory
note, his exordium, as the dlwmn, specifies a design and intent for his poetry.
It aspires to reach for the genuine and to escape the imitative and distorted.
As for his politics, “I have never aimed to entertain rulers and chiefs with can-
ticles, and never praised for reward.”^37 Al-Baymtlis aware of this political
position, but he is also familiar with al-Macarrl’s poetics of challenge to the
state of things insofar as literature, specifically poetry, is concerned. Rejecting
and abandoning poetry is not a solution, and al-Macarrl’s Luznmiyymtis a way
to go around the challenge, by manipulating the classical topoi, and hence
redirecting the poem. “He re-defines every element of tradition in the light
of what he considers morality and reason,” argues Sperl in respect to
al-Macarrl’s mannerism, to assign it “a new function in a new poetic realm,
thus freeing it from the propagation of falsehood to which it had been
lowered in the past.”^38
Recreating the forebear
Al-Baymtl’s recreation of al-Macarrl’s poetics is not limited to the paradigms
of good and evil, reason and superstition. He understands both al-Macarrl’s
deviation from customary rhyming schemes and his ambivalent imagery.
Dislodging images from the mimetic and the representational, al-Macarrl
POETIC STRATEGIES