The Reasons for Neglecting some Taf'ilas (metrical feet) and Composing in other Metres

Abstract

It is rhythm that makes poetry different from prose. The poetic texts that had reached us from ancient times were composed following rhythms and rules which were different from those regulating the composition of poetry. This was in ancient times; but as for what distinguishes poetry today, it is external music, represented by metre and rhyme-scheme including equal syllables that are able to create a sort of effective rhythm that touches the human self. As for other non-human creatures (animals, for example), it is a wellknown fact that they are moved by music as what happens in the circus. A professor in an Iraqi university says thet he has heard a camel-herd singing to his camels "Huduho, huduhudo, huduho, huduhudo" and they moved their legs according to the pace of this rhythm. Though these words, in fact, were meaningless, they match the Taweel (long) metre consisting It is rhythm that makes poetry different from prose. The poetic texts that had reached us from ancient times were composed following rhythms and rules which were different from those regulating the composition of poetry. This was in ancient times; but as for what distinguishes poetry today, it is external music, represented by metre and rhyme-scheme including equal syllables that are able to create a sort of effective rhythm that touches the human self. As for other non-human creatures (animals, for example), it is a wellknown fact that they are moved by music as what happens in the circus. A professor in an Iraqi university says thet he has heard a camel-herd singing to his camels "Huduho, huduhudo, huduho, huduhudo" and they moved their legs according to the pace of this rhythm. Though these words, in fact, were meaningless, they match the Taweel (long) metre consisting of: fa'ulun-mafa'ilun-fa'ulun-mafa'ilun.As for the human self, the love of music does not need any proof.