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Basīṭ ( Arabic: بسيط), or al-basīṭ (البسيط), is a metre used in classical Arabic poetry. The word literally means "extended" or "spread out" in Arabic. [1] Along with the ṭawīl, kāmil, and wāfir, it is one of the four most common metres used in pre-Islamic and classical Arabic poetry. [2]
The metrical form of the basīṭ is often as follows (where "–" is a long syllable, "u" is a short syllable, and "x" is anceps, i.e., a syllable which can be either long or short): [3] [4]
The mnemonic words (tafāʿīl) used by Arab prosodists to describe this metre are: Mustafʿilun Fāʿilun Mustafʿilun Faʿilun (مُسْتَفْعِلُنْ فَاعِلُنْ مُسْتَفْعِلُنْ فَعِلُنْ).
The metre is usually used in couplets of eight feet each.
An example is the qasīda by al-Mutanabbi (915-965): “The poet reproaches Sayf al-Dawla” (king of Aleppo), a poem of 38 couplets, from which come the following well-known verses:
Although in the poem of al-Mutanabbi quoted above, the last foot of each half-verse is always | u u – |, other poets use the metre in the following form, where "uu" represents a biceps element, i.e. one where the two short syllables can optionally be replaced by one long one.
An example is the following drinking-song by Abu Nuwas which begins:
The metre also exists in a trimeter form of which the half-verse is as follows:
There is also a catalectic trimeter form:
Occasionally the first foot of each half-verse can be | – u u – |.
Very rarely (in less than 1% of lines) the third foot can be | u – u – |. [6]
The term basīṭ is also used in a musical context; in the Andalusi nubah, or classical suites, of Morocco, each nubah, or suite, is divided into five main movements (called mīzān (ميزان; plural: mawāzīn, موازين)) each of which uses a different rhythm, as follows:
Part of a series on |
Arabic culture |
---|
Basīṭ ( Arabic: بسيط), or al-basīṭ (البسيط), is a metre used in classical Arabic poetry. The word literally means "extended" or "spread out" in Arabic. [1] Along with the ṭawīl, kāmil, and wāfir, it is one of the four most common metres used in pre-Islamic and classical Arabic poetry. [2]
The metrical form of the basīṭ is often as follows (where "–" is a long syllable, "u" is a short syllable, and "x" is anceps, i.e., a syllable which can be either long or short): [3] [4]
The mnemonic words (tafāʿīl) used by Arab prosodists to describe this metre are: Mustafʿilun Fāʿilun Mustafʿilun Faʿilun (مُسْتَفْعِلُنْ فَاعِلُنْ مُسْتَفْعِلُنْ فَعِلُنْ).
The metre is usually used in couplets of eight feet each.
An example is the qasīda by al-Mutanabbi (915-965): “The poet reproaches Sayf al-Dawla” (king of Aleppo), a poem of 38 couplets, from which come the following well-known verses:
Although in the poem of al-Mutanabbi quoted above, the last foot of each half-verse is always | u u – |, other poets use the metre in the following form, where "uu" represents a biceps element, i.e. one where the two short syllables can optionally be replaced by one long one.
An example is the following drinking-song by Abu Nuwas which begins:
The metre also exists in a trimeter form of which the half-verse is as follows:
There is also a catalectic trimeter form:
Occasionally the first foot of each half-verse can be | – u u – |.
Very rarely (in less than 1% of lines) the third foot can be | u – u – |. [6]
The term basīṭ is also used in a musical context; in the Andalusi nubah, or classical suites, of Morocco, each nubah, or suite, is divided into five main movements (called mīzān (ميزان; plural: mawāzīn, موازين)) each of which uses a different rhythm, as follows: