The Interrelation between Language and Literary Criticism in the Arab Critical Heritage

Abstract

            There is a prevalent notion within academic and intellectual circles that literary criticism has benefited from other disciplines, based on a perspective that views criticism as an independent and sovereign field whose boundaries should not be penetrated. The research hypothesis, however, posits that literary criticism intersects with topics and concepts found in linguistics—such as meaning, context, intention, lexicon, grammar, and others—considering these as critical standards present in classical Arab criticism. The study explores elements within Arab critical heritage, drawing upon foundational texts such as Al-Bayan wa Al-Tabyin by Al-Jahiz, Al-Umda fi Mahasin al-Shi‘r wa Adabih wa Naqdih by Ibn Qutaybah, Kitab al-Sina‘atayn by Abu Hilal al-Askari, Al-Muwashshah by Al-Marzubani, and Al-Mathal al-Sa’ir fi Adab al-Katib wa al-Shā‘ir by Ibn al-Athir. These critics analyzed and evaluated literary texts based on critical standards, the most important of which was the appropriate use of language to convey the intended meaning within the literary text. These early critical standards laid the groundwork for later classifications of poets into “tiers” or “levels.”