Ibn al-Muʿtazz

The caliph, poet, and critic Ibn al-Muʿtazz clearly reflects his personal interests and experience in his own contributions to the hunt poem:

Late in the 9th century, Ibn al-Muʿtazz, who was both poet and critic (and who, as a member of the caliphal family of the Abbasids, died after only one day as caliph), emulated his predecessors by assembling his own Ṭabaqāt al-shuʿarāʾ (“Classes of Poets”). But by then Ibn Qutaybah’s suggestion…

… (The Book of Tropes) by Ibn al-Muʿtazz (died 908), caliph for one day, who laid down rules for the use of metaphors, similes, and verbal puns. The ideal of these “modern” poets was the richest possible embellishment of verses by the use of tropes, brilliant figures of speech, and far-fetched…

…“new style” were defined by Ibn al-Muʿtazz in his Kitāb al-badīʿ (The Book of Tropes). The relation between lafẓ (word) and maʿnā (meaning) has been a matter of some controversy; many earlier critics stress the importance of outward form rather than of content. There was some question, too, as to…