The Reader in al-Jahiz: The Epistolary Rhetoric of an Arabic Prose Master

Thomas Hefter

Published by Edinburgh University Press 2014

The Reader in al-Jahiz

The Epistolary Rhetoric of an Arabic Prose Master

Thomas Hefter

In the series Edinburgh Studies in Classical Arabic Literature

https://doi.org/10.1515/9780748692750

Overview
Contents

About this book

Explores the intricately crafted rhetorical strategies used by al-Jāḥiẓ in his letters

The 9th-century essayist, theologian and encyclopaedist ‘Amr b. Baḥr al-Jāḥiẓ has long been acknowledged as a master of early Arabic prose writing. Many of his most engaging writings were clearly intended for a broad readership but were presented as letters to individuals. Despite the importance and quantity of these letters, surprisingly little academic notice has been paid to them.

Now, Thomas Hefter takes a new approach in interpreting some of al-Jāḥiẓ’s ‘epistolary monographs’. By focussing on the varying ways in which he wrote to the addressee, Hefter shows how al-Jāḥiẓ shaped his conversations on the page in order to guide (or manipulate) his actual readers and encourage them to engage with his complex materials.

Key Features

Looks at letters from one of the most unique minds of the Abbasid era that cover sectarian and ethnic rivalries, ethical questions, intoxicating beverages and daily life
Relates al-Jāḥiẓ’s experiments with the letter frame to his views on occupations, human geography and other issues of his day
Examines the role of self-parody in al-Jāḥiẓ’s fictional conversations with his addressees
Explores the rich interplay of contending voices

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Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	v
Acknowledgements Publicly Available Download PDF	vi
Introduction Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
1. The Addressee and the Occasion of Writing Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	34
2. Epistolary Confrontations and Dialectics of Parody Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	77
3. Undisclosed Origins and Homelands Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	121
4. Faulting Misers in the Introduction to Kitāb al-Bukhalāʾ Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	173
5. Passive Addressee and Critical Reader in the Abū al-ʿĀṣ/Ibn al-Tawʾam Debate Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	214
Conclusion Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	250
Bibliography Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	263
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	272

(Deutsch)

Language: English
Publisher: Edinburgh University Press
Audience: College/higher education;
Pages
- Main content: 288
Keywords: Islamic Studies

eBook

Published: May 16, 2014
ISBN: 9780748692750