The Poetics of Islamic Legitimacy Myth, Gender, and Ceremony in the Classical Arabic Ode by Suzanne Pinckney Stetkevych (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2002. 383 pages.)

Abstract

In The Poetics of Islamic Legitimacy, Suzanne Pinckney Stetkevych
effectively debunks the myth that the classical Arabic panegyric ode (qasidat al-madh) is merely a descriptive, prescriptive, or sycophantic
poetic genre by demonstrating its dynamic engagements with what she
terms “Arabo-Islamic court life.” The book builds on her previous work
(e.g., The Mute Immortals Speak [Cornell University Press: 1993]), using
an approach that blends an understanding of myth, rite, and archetype in
the classical Arabic qasidah with historically grounded, contextualized
interpretations of these poems. Her insightful, close readings of individual
poems are coupled with a detailed exploration of the classical Arabic
qasidah’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, including
anecdotal material about poetry and poets, in her interpretations. This
grounds her detailed and specific literary analyses in a broader sociopolitical,
historical, and cultural setting and invigorates her arguments
about poetry’s role in relation to power and leadership.
Each chapter treats one aspect of this overall argument and progresses
chronologically, beginning with pre-Islamic Arabia and ending with
Andalusia. 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, she
analyzes one or more poems, reading each section meticulously in relation
to the previously outlined contexts, paradigms, and theories, as well as the
Arabic literary tradition. She also notes grammatical and linguistic points
and the sociopolitical, historical and/or cultural elements affecting its composition.
She concludes by linking each chapter to the larger idea that binds
the book together – how the poems shore up or undermine the legitimacy
of Arabo-Islamic leaders ...