Abu Tammam Poetical Inspiration from his Forerunners’ Poetry: A Glance through the Aesthetic of Poetical Intertextuality in Light of his Critics’ Views

Abstract

Whenever we peruse through the works of Abu Tammam, we would find him being subjected to criticism or disparagement at times or being spoken about and praised at others by a multitude of critics be they prominent or not. Abu Tammam al-Ta'i poetry receded into history, is of a contemporaneous soul; his language, ever so scintillating, dazzles the discerner with pearls that fascinate the spirit before so the thought or sight. On this premise, this study was done based on the idea of observing how Al-Ta’i was influenced by previous poets. Thus, this study aims at observing previous poets' influence over Abu Tammam, which is considered an imprinted characteristic in his poetry- according to Al-Amedi's accusation, when he considered him as following in the path of the modernists. Furthermore, this study aims to elucidate these poetical aesthetics in the meanings that were evoked by Abu Tammam from the poetry of those who came before him, as well as to discuss the views of critics who critically dealt with the poetry of Abu Tammam, especially Al-Amedi in "Al-Mwazanah", and Al-Marzabani in "Al-Muwashah". To prove the two-way poetical influence, this study adopts a methodology that relies on the historical approach. Furthermore, it capitalizes on intertextuality to reveal how Abu Tammam was influenced by previous poets, resorting to analysis as an important procedural tool to get a sense of the aesthetics of Abu Tammam's poetry and that aforementioned influence.