Collaborative Composition of Classical Arabic Poetry

Evidence of collaborative composition of poetry goes back to the earliest documented phases in the history of Arabic literature. Already during pre-Islamic times, poets like Imruʾ al-Qays used to challenge others to complete their impromptu verse and create poetry collaboratively with them. This practice—commonly called iǧāza or tamlīṭ and essentially different from the better known poetic dueling of the naqāʾiḍ (flytings)—has shown remarkable stability and adherence to its form and dynamics in the pre-modern Arabophone world. In this article, I will discuss evidence of collaborative poetry from pre-Islamic times to the early seventh/thirteenth century, in order to present a picture of the typical situations in which it was practiced, its functions, its composition process, and formal aspects. Although usually not producing poetic masterpieces, this practice has the merit of revealing much about the processes of composing classical Arabic poetry in general. In this respect, its study and critical assessment are highly important, given the fact that medieval Arabic literary criticism does not always reflect praxis or focus on the actual practicalities of composing poetry. This practice and the contextualized way in which it was preserved allow us to see vividly the inextricable link between poetic form and the conditions in which poetry was created. It likewise sheds light on the intricate ways in which poets resisted, influenced, and manipulated others by poetic means. Based on the obvious fact that collaborative composition is imbued with the spirit of play, I offer at the end of the article criticism of Johan Huizinga’s famous play concept and his (much less famous) views of early Arabic culture and poetry in light of the evidence I studied.Les preuves de composition collaborative de la poesie remonte aux premieres phases documentees de l’histoire de la litterature arabe. Deja a l’epoque ante-islamique, les poetes comme Imruʾ al-Qays avaient pour habitude de defier les autres pour completer leurs vers improvises et composer de la poesie en collaboration. Cette pratique, communement appelee iǧāza ou tamlīṭ et fondamentalement differente du duel poetique mieux connu des naqāʾiḍ (poemes de contradiction), a montre une stabilite remarquable et il y eut une adhesion a cette forme de composition et a sa dynamique dans le monde arabe pre-moderne. Dans cet article, je discuterai de la poesie collaborative depuis l’epoque ante-islamique jusqu’au debut du VII e / XIII e siecle, afin de presenter un panorama des situations typiques dans lesquelles elle fut pratiquee, ses fonctions, son processus de composition et ses aspects formels. Bien que ne produisant generalement pas de chefs-d’oeuvre poetiques majeurs, cette pratique a le merite de reveler beaucoup d’elements sur les processus de composition de la poesie arabe classique en general. A cet egard, son etude et son evaluation critique sont tres importantes, etant donne que la critique litteraire arabe medievale ne reflete pas toujours la praxis ni ne met l’accent sur les aspects pratiques de la composition de la poesie. Cette pratique et la maniere contextualisee dans laquelle elle a ete preservee nous permettent de voir clairement le lien inextricable entre la forme poetique et les conditions dans lesquelles les poemes etaient composes. Il met egalement en lumiere de quelle maniere complexe les poetes ont resiste aux autres et les ont influences et manipules par des procedes poetiques. Comme la composition collaborative est de toute evidence impregnee de l’esprit de jeu, je presente a la fin de l’article une critique du celebre concept de jeu de Johan Huizinga et de ses considerations (beaucoup moins celebres) sur la culture et la poesie arabes des debuts a la lumiere des exemples etudies.This article is in English.