The Snake in the Tree in Abu al-'Ala' al-Ma'arri's Epistle of Forgiveness: Critical Essay and Translation.

This study first proposes to interpret the opening passages of Abu al-'Ala' al-Ma'arrî's (363-449/973-1058) Rlsälat al-Ghufrän {Epistle of Forgiveness) in terms of the mythic, lexic and ludic elements that make up the substance of what is essentially a non-narrative discourse. The study argues that...

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Publicado en:Journal of Arabic Literature Vol. 45; no. 1; pp. 1 - 81
Autor principal: Stetkevych, Suzanne Pinckney
Formato: Essay
Publicado: Brill Academic Publishers 2014
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Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
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        atl: The Snake in the Tree in Abu al-'Ala' al-Ma'arri's Epistle of Forgiveness: Critical Essay and Translation.
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        au: Stetkevych, Suzanne Pinckney
        affil: Georgetown University
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        Snakes
        Muhammad, Prophet, d. 632
        Eve (Biblical figure)
        Jesus Christ
        Epithets
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          Snakes
          Muhammad, Prophet, d. 632
          Eve (Biblical figure)
          Jesus Christ
          Epithets
      keyword:
        aghribat al-'Arab
        Al-Ma'arrî
        Arab grammarians
        Arab philologists
        Arabic lexicography
        Christian iconography
        Epistle of Forgiveness
        Eve
        Hawwá
        heavenly garden
        Holy Rood
        irony
        lexical concatenation
        literary Parnassus
        ludic space
        lughz
        Mukhadram poets
        parody
        pre-Islamic poets
        Ravens of the Arabs
        riddle
        Risälat al-Ghufrän
        snake symbolism
        tawriyah
        verbal duel
        word-play
      ab: This study first proposes to interpret the opening passages of Abu al-'Ala' al-Ma'arrî's (363-449/973-1058) Rlsälat al-Ghufrän {Epistle of Forgiveness) in terms of the mythic, lexic and ludic elements that make up the substance of what is essentially a non-narrative discourse. The study argues that al-Ma'arrI uses his parodie "heavenly garden" as a "ludic space" in which his self-righteous protagonist and addressee, Ibn al-Qárih, as well as his (presumed) reader, is tested with riddles, both verbal and conceptual. Ibn al-Qârih fails in what I claim to be a parody of a rite of initiation (a literary counterpart to the Prophet Muhammad's Night Journey and Ascension): he is constantly surprised and dumbfounded by God's mercy. This study argues that the opening passages, which play on names, epithets and lexical items relating to the snake, the snake in the tree, the black core of the heart, and related symbols of the soul and immortality are ultimately grounded in the shared Mesopotamian-Mediterranean sjonbolic matrix. It argues that the bivalent image of the snake as a source of longevity and of death, of deception and of veracity, is found in the interwoven Christian symbolism of Eve, the serpent, the tree of life, the Virgin Mary, Christ and the tree of the Cross. Second, it offers an annotated translation of the opening passages of al-Ma'arri's Risälat al-Ghufrän.
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      doctype: Essay
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    language: English
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