badīʿ

The term "badīʿ" refers to a poetic technique in Arabic literature, specifically a collection of rhetorical devices and "discourse embellishments". Ibn al-Muʿtazz, a poet and critic in the late 9th century, compiled a list of these devices in his work Kitāb al-badīʿ (The Book of Tropes). His aim was to show that these techniques were present in Arabic writing from its inception and that their use was a matter of taste. This work became influential, inspiring future writers to expand upon these lists of poetic devices. The concept of badīʿ is part of a broader tradition of literary criticism in Arabic literature, which dates back to pre-Islamic times and continues to be relevant today.1