Rating Adab: Al-Tawhīdī on the merits of poetry and prose. The 25th night of the Kitāb al-imtā' wa-l-mu'ānasa, translation and commentary

Abstract

Abū Hayyān al-Tawhīdī (d. 414/1023) actively contributed to the rich and diverse debate that took place in all fields adab in the middle Abbasid period. In the 25th night of this Kitāb al-imtāc wal-l-mu' ānasa, al-Tawhīdī talks about the respective virtues of poetry and prose. This highly entertaining debate, where jest and earnest (jidd wa-hazl) are skillfully interwoven, also stands under the influence of Aristotelian ideas that were applied to literary theory. The article offers a commented translation with references to other contemporary sources.