What is it about?
A case study in the history of emotions in medieval Arabic literature, which includes emended readings of the highly original love poetry of Ya'qub ibn al-Rabi', demonstrates how al-Mutanabbi "stole" key conceits from him, and shows how al-Mubarrad used selections from Ya'qub's poetry to create an emotional biography of him.
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Why is it important?
(1) The history of emotions is a new field in Arabic, but is already well developed and important in European studies. (2) The originality of Ya'qub ibn al-Rabi''s poetic thought has been obscured by poor texts, of which the article proposes improved readings.
Perspectives
This is part of an ongoing project to explore the emotional economy/economies of medieval Arabic writing.
Julia Bray
University of Oxford
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Yaʿqūb b. al-Rabīʿ Read by al-Mutanabbī and al-Mubarrad: A Contribution to an Abbasid History of Emotions, Journal of Abbasid Studies, June 2017, Brill,
DOI: 10.1163/22142371-12340029.
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