Le topos du ‘iḏār dans la poésie arabe prémoderne : étude d’épigrammes du Ḫal‘ al-‘iḏār fī waṣf al-‘iḏār (La levée de toute retenue dans la description du duvet) d’al-Nawāǧī (m. 1455)

Abstract

The ‘iḏār (the sprouting beard) is one of the most characteristic descriptive themes of the homoerotic ġazal. This physical feature is the object of all the poets’ attention, and in the premodern era it gave rise to anthologies of epigrams devoted entirely to the exaltation of this literary theme. Based on a famous anthology from the Mamluk period titled Ḫal‘ al-‘iḏār fī waṣf al-‘iḏār (Throwing off all restraint in describing the sprouting beard) by al-Nawāǧī (d. 1455), this study focuses on the analysis of some of these epigrams, in particular on the images and motifs used by the poets in their depictions. This analysis shows the affinity in writing that exists between the descriptions of the beloved and the representations of nature and landscape found in Arabic descriptive poetry. The poets emphasise the aesthetic beauty of the ephebe’s sprouting beard, using images and descriptive motifs that often refer to the natural world. The juxtaposition between the ephebe’s face and the image of a lush garden is not limited to the evocation of simple images or isolated elements from the natural world. Instead, it encompasses the full richness and descriptive complexity of the specific forms of nature found in Arabic landscape poetry. This study also focuses on the theme of light and darkness in these descriptions and on the evocation of this antinomic pair in the epigrams praising or dispraising the ‘iḏār.