A Study of the Vernacular Poetry of Aḥmad Fuʼād NigmThis study provides an analysis of the social and political meanings in the protest vernacular poetry of A?mad Fu'ad Nigm (b. 1929), the contemporary Eqyptian socialist poet. Nigm's work portrays Eqypt as a society composed of contending social forces and it is concerned with the cause of liberating Egypt from class inequality and political oppression. For Nigm, the way to achieve such liberation is through a people's revolution that will ultimately pave the way for a new socialist society. Nigm's commitment to the causes of his society is enhanced by his use of the simple, yet evocative, colloquial, an idiom which is close to the mind and heart of Egypt's poor and illiterate people. Moreover, Nigm deftly utilises different folk poetic forms, folk idioms and pungent witticisms to convey his socialist message. Consequently, Nigm's poetry enjoys wide popularity in Egypt, especially when sung to the melodious tune of the 'ud by Shaykh Imam, Nigm's partner. Being an example of genuine popular expression, Nigm's protest appears to pose a challenge to the political establishment, which considers Nigm as a "provocateur," as well as to the majority of scholars to whom vernacular works have no place in their canonical definition of "high" literature. |
Contents
Introduction | 1 |
The zajal and the zajjāl 3352 | 13 |
The Poetics of Revolution | 76 |
Conclusion | 105 |
| 174 | |
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Common terms and phrases
afandi Aghānī al-Mişriyya al-Sādāt Allah Amnesty International Arabic Literature azjāl Azza Baladī ballad Bayram al-Tūnisī Beirut Cairo called Chapter class inequality colloquial corruption Dār Ibn dialectal Diglossia Egypt Egypt's national Egyptian Egyptian Arabic fallāḥ fallāḥin Farīda Fu❜ād fusha Guevara is dead Ḥala Hala Willa Ho-Chi Minh Ibid ibn il-balad Ibn Khaldūn Ibrāhīm idioms images Iran's Islamic revolution Iranian revolution Islamic revolution khawāga literary mawwal Mūsā Muslim Brothers Nigm Nigm's azjal Nigm's poetry oppression people's Pierre Cachia poem poet poetic political poor popular Qur'an revolutionary rhyme scheme rich rulers Sawsan Says Nigm Shaykh Imām singer social socialist society songs stanza struggle vernacular poetry wal-Nashr words write yā Maṣr Ya'ish zaffa zajal إن البلد الكلمة الله الله اللى اللي بعد بلدنا بلدي توت جيفارا دا على غير فوق قال كان كل لما له ما مات مصر من مين هنا هوووه واحد ولا يا يمشى يمكن