Pre-Islamic poetry and the multiplicity of readings: The Ya’iyyah of Abd Yaghuth al-Harithi as a model

Abstract

This study examines the Ya’iyyah poem of Abd Yaghuth al-Harithi in which he elegizes himself, as one of the most prominent poems in pre-Islamic Arabic poetry and among the most frequently discussed in both classical and modern critical studies. The poem is distinguished by its emotional sincerity and its expression of a harsh human experience, embodied in the poet’s captivity after the defeat of his tribe on the Day of al-Kulab II, and his awareness of the nearness of death. The study aims to engage with the various readings that have addressed this Ya’iyyah, and to reveal the extent to which researchers approached or distanced themselves from the text, the methodologies they adopted in their analyses, and the major issues on which they agreed. The study employs the analytical method, examining each reading separately, identifying the critical methodology followed, and highlighting its cognitive and aesthetic contribution to uncovering the dimensions of the Ya’iyyah. The study also includes an introduction to the poem and to the concept of textual reading, then presents the views of a group of researchers who examined this poem, namely: Husam Awad Allah al-Shami, Khalid Bani Dumi, Khalil Abd Salim al-Rufu, Samar al-Diyub, Ibtisam bint Muhammad bin Said Bahamdan, Husam Muhammad Alam, and al-Muizz Mahdi Ali Muhammad.