T.S Eliots Influence on Arabic Poetry - Coursework Example

T.S Eliot’s Influence on Arabic Poetry T.S Eliot was born in St. Louis, Missouri in 1888. After studying from Harvard he went to Europe for further studies. Because of the war he had to stay in England where he did some low paid job as a teacher and a clerk. During this period he continued with writing reviews that were of startling originality. He was deeply influenced by Ezra Pound who guided him in his writing in many ways. In his youth, Eliot was considered as a rebel because of his radical ideas. However he became a highly respectable literary figure with his conversion to Anglo Catholicism and his professorship of poetry at Harvard in 1932. He died in 1965 but his fame did not die with him. Infact he became a model for the future generations in all parts of the world (Nobelprize.org). Eliot’s influence on English writers is well known to everyone. His books “Prufrock and other Observations”, “Four Quartets” and in particular “The Wasteland” has influenced many English writers. However, Eliot’s fame and influence did not confine itself to the borders of Europe and America. Where English poetry under Eliot’s influence moved with a steady pace, the Arabic poetry made a giant leap unleashing itself from the age old Arabic classical poetic model, the qasida, whose form, structure and pattern were laid down in the seventh century and were older than the religion Islam itself (Loya, 1971). The qasida was a couplet which consisted of two symmetrical hemistiches, separated by a caesura followed by a fixed pattern of long and short vowels. Each couplet was independent of the rest of the poem. All the couplets followed a similar rhyme scheme and meter throughout the poem. In Arabic poetry there was also restriction in the selection of themes as well. This pattern was being followed by the Arab poets without any significant changes for the past fourteen hundred centuries. The tribal Arab society gave way to the urbanized society which desperately demanded changes in the poetic form to express its message. The Arab poets became aware of the fact that the traditional qasida form consisting of fixed meter and rhyme was not sufficient to express the harsh realities of life. Despite all this the Arab poets continued to write in the traditional form till the twentieth century. The situation continued till the influence of West, in particular, the influence of T.S. Eliot changed the trend of the Arabic poetry. Many Arabic poets were deeply influenced by T.S. Eliot, whose literary work had touched all parts of the world with admiration (Loya, 1971). Arabic poetry under Eliot’s influence: Under Eliot’s influence, the Arabic poetry came to be known as the “New Poetry” which gave emphasis to the “foot”. The foot could be used by the poet in any number within the verse. This made it possible for the couplet to be composed of one foot or a part of the foot. The new poetry allowed free practice of enjambment which added to the unity and coherence of the poem. It was up to the poet to follow or not to follow the metrical rhyme to convey his message. The poet was also given freedom to choose any metrical scheme. The freedom of rhyme, rhythm and symmetry allowed the poets to freely express their ideas in any way (Loya, 1971). The new poetry gave unity to the poem and the couplet ceased to be an independent unit. There was a definite change in the modern Arabic poetry under Eliot’s influence and the primitive poetry. Or to quote from the article “Al Sayyab and the influence of T.S. Eliot” the poetry under Eliot’s influence was a change from the ancient rubaba to the modern violin or a change from the rough tribal dance to the ballet (Loya, 1971). Arabic literature has produced a number of prominent literary figures. Some of the prominent ones include Salah Abdul Sabur, Badar Shakir Al Sayyab, Nazik al Malaika and Abdel Wahab Al Bayati. These poets have been deeply influenced by the Western poets, in particular, T.S. Eliot who has given new dimensions to the Arabic poetry with the freedom of thought, form and expression. Salah Abdul Sabur: Of the many Arab poets who came under the influence of T.S. Eliot, Salah Abdul Sabur was one of them. Saleh was born in Egypt in 1931 and rose to a prominent position in the Egyptian literary society through his poems, essays and dramas. He died on August 14, 1981 (Jehat.com). Salah is still one of the most influential Egyptian poets whose popularity did not die with him. Salah created a new poetic idiom, gave new shape to poetic sensibility and made valuable contribution in the field of modern Arabic verse drama (Selaiha, 2002). Salah was deeply influenced by T.S. Eliot and to quote Eliot from his essay “The Possibility of Poetic Drama (1920)” Salah believed that “the essential is not….that drama should be written in verse. The essential is to get up on the stage his precise statement of life which is at the same time a point of view, a world”. It is for this reason that he rejected the traditional qasida form and allowed experimentation with the form and structure of the poem. He allowed choices to be made from any source be it Eastern or Western and greatly adopted Eliot’s dramatic experiments in his poetry and drama (Selaiha, 2002). Salah introduced new and realistic themes in Arabic poetry and transformed the Arabic poetry with an innovative spirit like Eliot had transformed the English poetry. Like Eliot, Abdul Sabur experimented with poetic form and language. The “New verse movement” strengthened his expression and allowed him to make changes in the number of feet in each line, change in the meter from one line to another and freed him from the traditional rhyme scheme which had given an artificial touch to the human language and had disrupted its smooth flow. Eliot’s influence in terms of experimentation is also felt in his theatrical work as well (Selaiha, 2002). His poem “Digression” consists of variety of verse length with irregular rhyme scheme and stanzas. Another poem “Going back to that evening” he writes: Great God! how wonderful you are, How gentle, how noble, How grave, how brave, What cleverness, what nerve, In riding, charioting, galloping, jostling, In the laying of an ainbush, In making a conquest, In reconstruction, destruction, Inking pages, thinking wages, Inking, thinking, blinking, Experimenting, dementing, Training, straining, In music and verse and singing, Womanizing, buying, selling, renting, In science, technology, Morphology, phonology, (Jehat.com) The poem is an example of free verse written much in Eliot’s style. The theme of praising God is being experimented in a new way which was never attempted in the Arabic poetry before. Salah’s poem “A Belated Confession” is an example of the “New Poetry” under Eliot’s influence where he expresses his ideas in the minimum possible lines. He writes: The truth is, knights proud, I felt you were The real shroud, And that was why I was sad. (Jehat.com) Under Eliot’s influence Sabour experimented with different themes for his poems. His poems dealt with different subjects such as women, different seasons and other patriotic poems that were addressed to the people of his country. Al-Sayyab: Like other young poets Badar Shakir Al Sayyab was also deeply influenced by Eliot’s poetry. Al Sayab was born in 1926 and graduated with a major in English language and literature. He read Eliot and since then he never stopped experimentation in his poetry based on Eliot’s style. His first ever poem published on Eliot’s model was “Hal Kanna Hubban” which is translated in English as “Was that love?” The poem was a break from the traditional independent couplet, strict rhyme, symmetry and rhythm which greatly attracted the young generation of his time. Al Sayyab became a model for the young generation who were simply looking for new ways to express their ideas in poetry. Al Sayyab published five collections of poems after Eliot’s model. He died in 1964 (Loya, 1971). Al Sayyab was deeply influenced by Eliot’s artistic devices, his emphasis to the form, the use of the colloquial language and the projection of the fragmentary ideas in a sudden manner. Eliot gave Al Sayyab a new way to express his imagination by breaking away from the clutches of the traditional old form (Loya, 1971). Initially Al Sayyab followed Eliot’s form only for the expression of his ideas. The form gave unity and coherence to his poems which were greatly admired by the people. Later Eliot’s thoughts and moods as mentioned in The Wasteland with the hollowness of the inhabitants were also adopted by the poet. Eliot’s thought related to the city and the modern civilization has been adopted by Al Sayyab in his poem “Jaykur and the City”: The streets of the city twist around me Like ropes of dirt that chew my heart, Turning its fiery embers into a chunk of mud, Whipping like ropes of fire the nakedness of the sad fields, Burning Jaykur in the bottom of my soul The sense of alienation and frustration that Eliot’s protagonists feel in his poems is adopted by Al Sayyab in the same poem in the following way: No one can kindle love in those streets, Those houses and shops… Who can turn its waters into running springs? And the human claw into a hand Which could wipe a child’s brow? Who can bring God back to her? (Loya, 1971) Eliot influenced Al Sayyab in terms of symbolism as well. Eliot was known for the use of fragmented images in his poetry which he explained as a “magic lantern threw the nerves in patterns on a screen”. For Eliot these isolated images conveyed more properly the ideas and moods of the poet. To further strengthen the meaning of his lines Eliot used different symbols, pregnant words related to the legends and past. It is for this reason one finds universality in his poetry. The Wasteland is not only London or New York but is any metropolis city of the past, present and future (Loya, 1971). Eliot found similar recurring patterns in various legends. He states that the rebirth myths, fertility myths, Christ’s resurrection and the quest for the Grail are the same. Eliot uses these legends as symbols in many of his poems. In one of the poems he writes: The shouting and the crying Prison and palace and reverberation Of thunder of spring over distant mountains He who was living is now dead He who were living are now dying With a little patience The symbolism in these lines by Eliot is universal. “The shouting and crying” could be related to any moment in the past, present and future. There is also a hint to the vegetation myths with the “thunder of spring over distant mountains”. The “dead” is not only Christ but the vegetation God or Adonis or Osiris or Orpheus (Loya, 1971). Following Eliot’s model, Al Sayyab turned to the ancient myths of the East for his symbolism. He used fragmentary images to give unity to his poems. Al Sayyab turned to the Eastern Gods such as Tammuz, Baal, Ishtar, to Biblical and Quranic figures and to the heroes of the Arabian tales. He uses them as his symbols and thus connected the past with the present and the future. Al Sayyab became a prominent part of the Tammuzite movement and used the god of fertility, Tammuz, as a symbol in many of his poems. Christ is another prominent symbol in Al Sayyab’s poetry and his resurrection symbolizes the resurrection of the whole humanity (Loya, 1971). Other Poets: Apart from these two prominent poets others who were influenced by Eliot’s poetry included Nazik Al Malaika and Abdul Wahab Al Bayati. Under Eliot’s influence Malaika broke away from the traditional Arabic style and introduced experimental poetry with novel themes. Malaika mastered herself in the art of free verse. With the publication of her poem “The lover of Night” Malaika has introduced new structure in the Arabic poetry which was widely appreciated by all. The poem is a classic example of Eliot’s influence since in this poem the poetess has departed from the traditional two hemistich system and has adopted the foot as the rhythmic base (Altoma, 1997). Abdul Wahab al Bayati is another prominent Iraqi poet. The following poem by him outlines the theme of loneliness that is so often found in Eliot’s poetry. Like a drop of rain, I was alone, My love, like a drop of rain. Do not be sad. Tomorrow I will buy you the moon, The forenoon sun And an orchard. Tomorrow if I return from my travels, If the rock in my breast buds. But today I am alone, My love, Like a drop of rain. (Hegazi, 1999) Conclusion: A prominent Syrian poet Nazir Qubbani pays tribute to the influence of T.S. Eliot on Arabic poetry. Eliot has definitely left a clear impact on the poetic production of the majority of the contemporary Arabic poets. The young Arabic poets have adopted the art of free verse, the use of myths along with religious and historical symbols and images to convey their thoughts in a manner that was most suitable to their age. Qubbani praises the outcome of the influence of Eliot’s poetry on Arabic poetry. His influence gave unity of form and content and the freedom in the use of rhythm and rhyme. In the modern Arabic poem, there is a definite nucleus around which the whole poem revolves (Loya, 1971). In simple words the modern Arabic poetry is the greatest achievement for which it owes a lot to Eliot. References Altoma, S.J. (Fall 1997). “Nazik Al Mala’ika’s poetry and its critical reception in the West- Modern Iraqi Literature in English Translation”, Arab Studies Quarterly, Retrieved on April 24, 2007 from http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-20576620.html Hegazi, A.A.M. (12-18 August 1999). “Points of Reference”, Al-Ahram Weekly, Issue No. 442. Retrieved on April 24, 2007 from http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/1999/442/cu1.htm Loya, A. (1971). “Al Sayyab and the influence of T.S. Eliot”, The Muslim World”, Vol. 61. University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA pg. 187-201 “Salah Abd al Sabur”, (n.d.). Jehat.com, Retrieved on April 24, 2007 from http://www.jehat.com/Jehaat/en/Poets/SalahAbd-al-Sabur.htm Selaiha, N. (18-24 April 2002), “Poet, Rebel, Martyr”, Al-Ahram Weekly Online, Issue No.582, Retrieved on April 24, 2007 from http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2002/582/cu5.htm “T.S. Eliot, the Nobel prize in Literature 1948”, (n.d.) Nobelprize.org, Retrieved on April 24, 2007 from http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1948/eliot-bio.html Read More