The Poetics of Islamic Legitimacy

In The Poetics of Islamic Legitimacy, Suzanne Pinckney Stetkevycheffectively debunks the myth that the classical Arabic panegyric ode (qasidat al-madh) is merely a descriptive, prescriptive, or sycophanticpoetic genre by demonstrating its dynamic engagements with what sheterms “Arabo-Islamic court life.” The book builds on her previous work(e.g., The Mute Immortals Speak [Cornell University Press: 1993]), usingan approach that blends an understanding of myth, rite, and archetype inthe classical Arabic qasidah with historically grounded, contextualizedinterpretations of these poems. Her insightful, close readings of individualpoems are coupled with a detailed exploration of the classical Arabicqasidah’s social and ritual functions – from the pre-Islamic period,through its early days, and continuing through the Umayyad and`Abbasid periods.This book’s specific argument is that the panegyric ode “created,encoded, and promulgated a myth and ideology of legitimate Arabo-Islamic rule” (p. ix). She uses a range of contemporary sources, includinganecdotal material about poetry and poets, in her interpretations. Thisgrounds her detailed and specific literary analyses in a broader sociopolitical,historical, and cultural setting and invigorates her argumentsabout poetry’s role in relation to power and leadership.Each chapter treats one aspect of this overall argument and progresseschronologically, beginning with pre-Islamic Arabia and ending withAndalusia. Each chapter is highly structured and begins by setting a context.Stetkevych then explicates the paradigms and theories employed (e.g.,Van Gennep’s rite of passage and Mauss’ formulation of ritual exchange),before providing a translation of the poem(s) to be analyzed. Finally, sheanalyzes one or more poems, reading each section meticulously in relationto the previously outlined contexts, paradigms, and theories, as well as theArabic literary tradition. She also notes grammatical and linguistic pointsand the sociopolitical, historical and/or cultural elements affecting its composition.She concludes by linking each chapter to the larger idea that bindsthe book together – how the poems shore up or undermine the legitimacyof Arabo-Islamic leaders ...