al-Adab wa Fununuhu - Dirasa wa Naqd
- Author died
- 1428 AH
- Editions
- Dar Al-Fikr Al-Arabi
al-Adab wa Fununuhu: Dirasa wa Naqd ("Literature and Its Arts: A Study and Critique") is a theoretical and critical work on Arabic literature and literary genres by the Egyptian scholar and critic Izz al-Din Ismail (d. 1428 AH / 2007 CE), first published in Cairo in 1955 CE.
Background and Purpose
Ismail prepared the core material for the book during his four years of teaching at the Department of Arabic Language in the Faculty of Arts at Ain Shams University, where he debated and refined its questions with his students. He composed the work to address what he viewed as a pressing need for a study in Arabic that paired theoretical explanations of literary theory and criticism with direct, practical analysis of literary texts. The book aimed to convey the foundational elements of literary thought in an accessible manner, presenting broad outlines across various questions rather than exhaustively detailing single topics.
Contents and Structure
The book is divided into two primary parts:
- Part One: Literary Theory and Literary Criticism (al-Bab al-Awwal: Nazariyyat al-Adab wa-l-Naqd al-Adabi): Divided into two chapters. The first chapter, on literary theory, examines the definition and linguistic origins of the term adab, verbal art, psychological engagement with the text, utility and pleasure, the elements and qualities of a literary work, style, the relationship between literature and society, methods of literary study, and major literary movements, including classicism, romanticism, realism, symbolism, surrealism, Dadaism, existentialism, and the theatre of the absurd. The second chapter, on critical theory, addresses the nature, importance, rules, and stages of literary criticism, the critical foundations of ancient and modern literature, interpretative criticism, and judicial criticism.
- Part Two: Literary Arts (al-Bab al-Thani: al-Funun al-Adabiyya): Opens with an introduction to literary genres, followed by four chapters detailing specific artistic forms alongside practical critical applications.
- Poetry (al-Shi'r): Explores the antiquity, nature, and definitions of poetry, emotion and thought, ancient and modern poetic imagery, and subjective versus objective verse, with applied studies on poems by Ahmad Shawqi, Hafiz Ibrahim, Abbas Mahmud al-Aqqad, and Salah Abd al-Sabur.
- The Art of Fiction (al-Fann al-Qasasi): Analyzes narrative raw material, the selection process, narrative elements (plot event, narration, structure, character, time and place, and theme), the short story, and an applied study of the short story Ana al-Sha'b ("I Am the People").
- The Theatrical Art (al-Fann al-Masrahi): Covers dramatic dialogue, conflict, movement, the relationship between script and stage, philosophical drama, dramatic language in verse and prose, dramatic frameworks and subgenres, and an applied critical study of the play Ghurub al-Andalus ("Sunset of al-Andalus").
- Other Literary Genres (Anwa' Adabiyya Ukhra): Discusses life-writing and autobiography, the essay (al-maqala), and the reflective thought piece (al-khatira), with applied studies featuring al-Aqqad in autobiography, Zaki Najib Mahmud in the essay, and Ahmad Amin in the reflection.
Publication History
The work was first printed in Cairo in 1955 CE by Dar al-Nashr al-Misriyya. It subsequently went through numerous editions; in its eighth edition, Ismail revised the text, expanded the footnotes, and converted what was previously an appendix into the fourth chapter of Part Two to incorporate applied studies on autobiography, the essay, and the reflection.
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