Shi'r Shawqi fi Mizan al-Naqd
- Author died
- 1420 AH
- Editions
- al-Jāmi‘ah al-Islāmīyah bi-al-Madīnah al-Munawwarah
Shi'r Shawqi fi Mizan al-Naqd (The Poetry of Shawqi in the Scale of Criticism) is a critical literary treatise by the Syrian scholar and educator Muhammad al-Majdhub (d. 1420 AH), written while serving as an instructor at the College of Da'wah and Usul al-Din at the Islamic University of Medina. The work offers a comprehensive thematic and stylistic critique of the poetry and verse dramas of the Egyptian poet Ahmad Shawqi (1285–1351 AH).
Overview and Literary Scope
The treatise frames Shawqi's literary output within the dawn of the modern Arabic poetic renaissance, characterizing him as the most prolific of modern Arabic poets. Al-Majdhub observes that Shawqi's vast imaginative capacity and extensive travels led him to emulate both towering classical Arabic poets—such as al-Mutanabbi, al-Buhturi, Abu Tammam, and Ibn Zaydun—and prominent French literary figures, including Victor Hugo in politics and mythology, Jean de La Fontaine in fables, and Pierre Corneille in theatrical tragedies.
Political and Social Poetry
Al-Majdhub divides Shawqi's political output into two major phases:
- The Court Phase: During his early career as the poet of the Khedival court, Shawqi's political outlook mirrored the inclinations of the palace, leading him to denounce Ahmad Urabi and criticize political figures opposing Khedive Abbas. The author notes shifting allegiances in this phase, including Shawqi's staunch pro-Ottoman stance and initial condemnation of Sharif Husayn, followed by praise for Mustafa Kemal's military victories.
- The Post-Exile Phase: Following World War I, his exile in Spain (al-Andalus), and the abolition of the Ottoman Caliphate, Shawqi distanced himself from the palace and emerged as a poet of the broader Arab and Muslim public. In this period, his poetry championed national independence, celebrated Syrian resistance in Damascus, and mourned pan-Islamic struggles.
In examining Shawqi's social and religious verses, al-Majdhub commends his advocacy for education, the labor force, and public morality. However, he offers doctrinal and cultural critiques of Shawqi's work:
- He criticizes Shawqi's shifting stance on women, noting that while the poet initially defended the hijab and emphasized maternal education, he later endorsed Western-style unveiling associated with Huda Sha'rawi.
- He faults Shawqi's religious interfaith overtures for incorporating theological compromises, such as venerating the Christian cross in attempts to placate Christian compatriots.
- He criticizes certain devotional verses (Mada'ih Nabawiyyah), including lines in Nahj al-Burdah and his Hamziyyah, where Shawqi made use of supplications directed to the Prophet ﷺ or characterized him as the leader of the socialists, as well as lines equating praise of God with praise of Sultan Abdul Hamid.
Descriptive and Elegiac Poetry
The author assesses Shawqi as one of the modern era's finest descriptive poets, noting that his depictions of concrete and physical subjects surpass his treatment of abstract concepts. His descriptions range from traditional motifs and historical ruins—such as the Alhambra and the Umayyad Mosque—to modern inventions like airplanes and submarines.
In his evaluation of Shawqi's elegies (ritha'), al-Majdhub argues that the poet's personal elegies—even for his own parents—frequently suffer from emotional detachment, substituting genuine grief with cold philosophizing and imitation of al-Mutanabbi. By contrast, he judges Shawqi's public and historical elegies to be among his greatest achievements, particularly those mourning the fall of the Ottoman Caliphate, ruined Islamic capitals, and national figures like Sa'd Zaghloul and Omar al-Mukhtar.
Dramatic Verse and Theatrical Plays
Al-Majdhub credits Shawqi with revolutionizing Arabic verse drama, identifying three technical breakthroughs he introduced over earlier Levantine pioneers:
- Metre (al-wazn): Replacing the monotonous constraint of a single poetic metre throughout an entire play with diverse poetic metres.
- Rhyme (al-qafiyah): Abandoning uniform monorhyme across scenes in favor of varied rhymes to maintain audience engagement.
- Dialogue (al-hiwar): Dynamically distributing a single poetic line among multiple interacting characters rather than restricting each character's speech to complete individual lines.
The treatise reviews Shawqi's published verse plays from 1929 CE onward—such as Majnun Layla, Cleopatra, Cambyses, Ali Bey al-Kabir, Amirat al-Andalus, and Antarah—noting their grounding in historical tragedies, their adaptation of history for moral purposes, and the consistent triumph of moral duty over romantic passion.
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