Hymn of the Rain: Assayyab’s Decolonizing Task

Abstract

The Waste Land has always been considered as Eliot’s most celebrated poem in the critical writings in Arabic. Many critics often attribute the revolutionary change brought into Arabic poetry partially to this poem, and Badr Shakir Assayyab himself stresses that it should be admitted that The Waste Land has had a great influence on modern Arabic literature. Likewise, Assayyab’s poem, Unshudat al-Matar (Hymn of the Rain), has always been viewed as a landmark in the history of modern Arabic poetry. The poem has received a great deal of criticism, focused mainly on its new style, themes and images. It has enjoyed unprecedented success apparently because of its unprecedented rendering of the theme of rain. However, a considerable number of Arab critics enthusiastically contend that many of Assayyab’s techniques and themes were acquired mainly from Eliot. This claim was usually followed by a reference to The Waste Land and to its influence on Hymn of the Rain. In this paper, I do not deny the influence of Eliot, but things should be put in their context: Assayyab had the poetic vision which helped him reclaim his national symbols and counter Eliot’s colonizing approach..