Kitāb al-shiʿr wa al-shuʿarāʾ

work by Ibn Qutaybah

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June 30, 2026

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The Kitāb al-shiʿr wa-al-shuʿarāʾ (Book of Poetry and Poets) is a significant work by the 9th-century Arab writer Ibn Qutaybah. This book is a chronological anthology of early Arabic poetry and includes an introduction that lays out Ibn Qutaybah's principles of literary criticism. A key idea presented in this introduction is that older poems are not inherently superior to newer ones. Ibn Qutaybah's work is considered a foundational text in Arabic literary criticism, influencing the tradition for centuries. He was a writer of adab literature, known for his simple and accessible prose style.312

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Ibn Qutaybah
…Knowledge”), a handbook of history; Kitāb al-shiʿr wa al-shuʿarāʾ (“Book of Poetry and Poets”), a chronological anthology of early Arabic poetry, with an introduction that presented Ibn Qutaybah’s canons of literary criticism; and Kitāb ʿuyūn al-akhbar (“Book of Choice Narratives”), a collection of adab studies dealing with the authority of…
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…Knowledge”), a handbook of history; Kitāb al-shiʿr wa al-shuʿarāʾ (“Book of Poetry and Poets”), a chronological anthology of early Arabic poetry, with an introduction that presented Ibn Qutaybah’s canons of literary criticism; and Kitāb ʿuyūn al-akhbar (“Book of Choice Narratives”), a collection of adab studies dealing with the authority of…
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Arabic literature
Beginnings
…own 9th-century compilation of poets, Kitāb al-shiʿr wa al-shuʿarāʾ (“Book of Poetry and Poets”), in which he suggested that ancient poetry could not be deemed superior merely because it was old. The 9th-century grammarian Thaʿlab of al-Kūfah organized his Qawāʿid al-shiʿr (“The Rules of Poetry”) along syntactic principles, thus illustrating…
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…own 9th-century compilation of poets, Kitāb al-shiʿr wa al-shuʿarāʾ (“Book of Poetry and Poets”), in which he suggested that ancient poetry could not be deemed superior merely because it was old. The 9th-century grammarian Thaʿlab of al-Kūfah organized his Qawāʿid al-shiʿr (“The Rules of Poetry”) along syntactic principles, thus illustrating…
Read More