| My dissertation focuses on the bodily materialization of the poetic words during the live presentation of the classical qas&dotbelow;idah as envisioned by the literary tradition. The (akhbar) depict various examples of classical Arab poets attempting to persuade their audiences through a series of special gestures, movements, and costumes intended to contribute to their poetic purpose. Seeking to understand the impact of such displayed actions and the way they related to their poetic texts and social settings, I analyze eight classical poetic performances, mostly panegyric, before audiences from different social classes. I argue that classical Arab poets recognized the importance of the visual medium for persuading their audience and for incorporating intangible concepts of might and social superiority that conformed to the performative function of the qas&dotbelow;idah. Accordingly, they established especial rules of engagement with their audiences, which, if broken, would turn the entire experience of a poetic performance into a fiasco, and vice versa. |
