The Department of Arabic Language Discusses a Master’s Thesis on the Poetry of Abbasid Poets

The Department of Arabic Language at the College of Education for Human Sciences, University of Samarra, discussed a master’s thesis entitled “The Poetry of Abbasid Poets in the Book al-Waraqa by Ibn al-Jarrah (d. 296 AH): A Thematic and Artistic Study”, submitted by the student Abdulrahman Khalil Saleh.

The thesis examines the poetry of Abbasid poets included in the book al-Waraqa by Muhammad ibn Dawud ibn al-Jarrah, considering it one of the important sources that preserved selected examples of poetry from this era. The Abbasid period was marked by extensive activity in collecting and recording poetry and in composing books devoted to poets’ biographies and their works, which contributed to the documentation of poetic heritage and the diversification of critical approaches to its study.

The researcher sought to highlight a number of lesser-known Abbasid poets whose poetry appears in this book, introducing them and their poetic output, and clarifying their contributions to the literary movement. The study also analyzes the thematic characteristics of their poetry through examining various poetic purposes, such as praise, elegy, love poetry, satire, and description, as well as identifying and critically analyzing the most prominent artistic features.

In conclusion, the researcher arrived at several scholarly findings, most notably that al-Waraqa represents a conscious literary selection reflecting a refined critical taste in the choice of texts, and that the poetry of Abbasid poets included in it combines adherence to inherited poetic traditions with aspects of innovation in artistic structure and meaning, in addition to the contribution of these poets to the literary movement of their time.