Patronage and Poetry in the Islamic World: Social Mobility and Status in the Medieval Middle East and Central Asia (Library of Middle East History)

Panegyric Poetry, In Both Arabic And Persian, Was One Of The Most Important Genres Of Literature In The Medieval Middle East And Central Asia. Jocelyn Sharlet Argues That Panegyric Poetry Is Important Not Only Because It Provides A Commentary On Society And Culture In The Medieval Middle East, But Also Because Panegyric Writing Was One Of The Key Means For Individuals To Gain Social Mobility And Standing During This Period. This Is Particularly So Within The Context Of Patronage, A Central Feature Of Social Order During These Times. Sharlet Places The Medieval Arabic And Persian Panegyric Firmly Within Its Cultural Context, And Identifies It As A Crucial Way Of Gaining Entry To And Movement Within This Patronage Network. This Is An Important Contribution To The Fields Of Pre-modern Middle Eastern And Central Asian Literature And Culture. Machine Generated Contents Note: 1.the Problem With Poetry -- 2.poets Taking Risks To Get Ahead -- Intimacy And Distance In Unequal Relationships -- Coercive Patrons And Resistant Poets -- Breaking Up -- 3.introduction To Abu Tammam, Al-buhturi, Unsuri, Farrukhi And Their Patrons -- Abu Tammam And His Patrons -- Al-buhturi And His Patrons -- Unsuri And His Patrons -- Farrukhi And His Patrons -- 4.tools For Thinking: Motifs And Syntax -- Speaking Of Power: Motifs -- Configurations Of Intimacy And Distance: Syntax -- 5.pre-industrial Light And Magic: Rhetorical Devices And Figurative Language -- Constructing Relationships: Rhetorical Devices -- Imagining Relationships: Figurative Language -- 6.getting To Know You: Close Observation And Evaluation -- Seeing And Being Seen: Close Observation In Praise -- Thinking It Over: Evaluation In Praise -- 7.doing Business: Communication And Interaction -- Talking It Over: Communication In Patronage -- Give And Take: Interaction In Praise -- Contents Note Continued: 8.the Cosmopolitan Professional Poet -- 9.the Socially Mobile Professional Poet -- Socio-economic Identity -- Religious Identity -- Ethnic Identity. Jocelyn Sharlet. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [305]-318) And Index. Introduction -- Chapter 1: The Rhetoric of Patronage: Building Possibilities -- Chapter 2: Panegyric Discourse: Elaborating on Possibilities -- Chapter 3: Awareness of Patronage Relationships in Panegyric Poetry -- Chapter 4: Connections of Interaction -- Chapter 5: Uncertainty and Flexibility in Patronage -- Chapter 6: Flexibility and Social Mobility in Patronage