Abdellatif Rhesri, the poet who holds the rein of the poem
Written in Arabic By Abdullah Gomaa
Translated By Abdellatif Rhesri
The « Lugha » (the Arabic word for language) is derived from « lagha » (twitter/ speak), so it refers to speech or the act of speaking.
Linguistically speaking, it was defined in various ways, the most well-known of which, perhaps, is what Ibn Jinni mentioned in his book entitled «Khassaiss » (Characteristics). He said, « Language is a set of sounds used by a particular people to express their feelings and wants ». this was followed by many other definitions set forward by a number of linguists. However, all these definitions had one thing in common ; that language depends on four main elements :
1- pronounced sounds 2- expressiveness 3- communicative usage 4- specificity
These are, approximately, the main elements that constitute the definition of language according to most linguists, though some modern definitions are expanded to include signs, facial expressions etc. however, we are only concerned with language as defined by Ibn Jinni and represented as a set of pronounced sounds giving vent to the feelings and wants of a particular people.
The question, now, is the following: If two human beings from two different « linguistic » regions were meant to meet together, not knowing the meanings of each other’s linguitic sounds, would there be any intellectual communicatin between them both ? Of course not. This is normal. What is not normal, however, is that two human beings from the same linguistic region, one of them pronouncing the sounds agreed upon by that region’s inhabitants, should meet together and fail to communicate intellectually with each other.
I wonder, now, what would cut off intellectual communication between them despite the fact that they pronounce the same lingistic sounds ? There must be some factors, other than linguistic contact, that caused a flaw in the communication system between them both. These factors are mainly :
1- The fact that one of them is unable to formulate phrases and sentences in a way that would invoke the other one’s reaction, even though the latter understood the meanings of the pronounced sounds.
2- The speaker’s lack of the power to cause amazement, which leads to the addressee’s uninterest.
3- The weakness of the other subsidiary sound effects, such as the musicality of the pronounced sounds, which is introduced in poetry through meters and rhymes. I emphasise the importance of tafiila (poetic foot) in poetry for those who claim to be modernists and deny the value of the foot in poetry and the fact that it is an essential element in the poetic sound.
4- Resorting to strange, rough and oddly pronounced sounds that make it difficult for the recipient to grasp the words in a right and conscious way.
Therefore, a conscious poet should abide by these principles in his poetic product, trying hard to employ his skill in reaching the recipient (reader) through the shortest way he can manage. This can never be achieved except by an experienced poet. Here, in Al-Kanadil, since I have signed up, I have been looking for that group of creative poets who handle their poetic mechanism so well and confidently that one may wonder what secret is there in this forum (Al-Kanadil) which is joined only by highly gifted poets ? It is still an unanswered question for me. The Web is full of literary forums, but no one can deny that this particular forum has a special glamour obtained from the fact that it has been joined by a number of highly talented and intellectually gifted poets.
One of these poets, in whose poetic product I am so interested that I do not really know what I should begin with when trying to analyse it, is the Poet Abdellatif Rhesri ; that well-talented poet who would make you feel, while reading him for the first time, like you are living in two contradictory worlds which he has managed to bring together in extreme harmony ; the world of classical poetry and that of poetic modernism. So, how has he managed to do that ?
Abdellatif Rhesri is blessed with many skills which I have mentioned ealier in this review :
1- His ability to formulate phrases and sentences in a way that would invoke the reader’s reaction.
For instance, he said in his poem (The Sword of Gossip) :
The night is kneeling down, moaning and feeling dejected
Did silence heel or open the night’s wound ?
This excerpt shows the poet’s ability to formulate a good arabic poetic sentence. He has insisted willingly and intentionally on putting a dhamma at the end of the word dhajar (boredom/exasperation) despite its almost adverbial significance which requires putting a fatha rather than a dhamma at the end of the word so that it becomes an adverb for the agent jathin (kneeling down). However, the agent itself produces the necessary moral fluidity, so the poet is in no need to resort to the fatha to denote the moral adverb, that is why he has kept the word dhajar related to the subject and, thus, turned the verb phrase VP into a noun phrase NP to retain the meaning’s consistency. Furthermore, the Dhamma is likely to broaden the meaning’s interval and render the expression a complex one consisting of two phrases, one of which is (the night is kneeling down) and the other one is (moaning and feeling dejected). Both are noun phrases (in the Arabic version), but the first one produces a sort of fluidity and movement, as it contains a verb derivative, whereas the second one is a pure noun phrase. The poet’s insistence on that phrase form is proof of his total awareness of the phrase’s significance. Besides, the expression’s interval is apt to get wider with two phrases rather than one and by turning the position of the word dhajar from a subject into an adverb. A poet, like this one, who is able to handle the meaning and term the way he wants knowing how to make the term serve the meaning, deserves to be an example for beginners. For, his abilities have been enhanced through long study, experience and constant practice.
2- His ability to cause amazement which makes the reader quite vigilant all the way through. This is shown in his good use of metaphors or even by striking the meaning in an astonishingly direct way that serves to retain the musicality of the term. Let us take an example to this from his poem (the Poem’s Fate) :
But the poets’ real joy is
To say that which no one could say
Here, he has finished the verse musically without finishing it in terms of meaning so that the recipient may remain focussed on the poetic event without the possibility to miss its threads or the possibility of potential digression.
3- The availability of musical effects in his poems that go side by side with the pronounced sounds and tend to support the meaning. In this case, the element of musicality turns the reader into a recipient of a « soundtrack » that goes in parallel with the poetic meaning. An example of this is the first verse in his poem (The Sword of Gossip) :
Gossip’s sword came to me, carrying its rust
While the night was blowing out its clay in its breaths
Here, the Poet has chosen the hamza followed by the linking letter ha / ‘h’ as a rhyme for this poem, and a complex kafia. Let me explain these three terms so that we may realise this poet’s mastery and ability to create a soundtrack through rhymes only. It is a tough job which he fulfills well to make the reader feel at ease.
The rhyme in the poem is the hamza which is a letter that produces a sort of explosive sound as I have said earlier.
The linking letter is the one that comes after the rhyme, and in the poem it is the letter ha /‘h’.
The complex kafia is the one that contains three consonants falling between two vowels.
I may be asked, « Why do you bother to explain these terms ? »
And my answer is the following : Imagine a car going at its extreme speed, then it collides with something and comes to a sudden halt causing a violent jerk to those riding it. Or I may even ask, « Do you remember the Cannon Toy game that used to be played in local festivals ? Do you remember when a man would push it with his utmost power, and it would eventually collide with an explosive matter causing a tremendous noise ? the kafia which Abdellatif Rhesri has used in the poem causes us to feel the same as I have explained in the two previous examples.
The complex kafia accelerates rhythm thanks to the three consecutive consonants that fall between two vowels, then comes to a sudden halt colliding with the linking letter ha / ‘h’, causing a violent jerk at the end of each verse. That jerk makes us come to our senses and get more vigilant to grasp the meaning of each verse so that we may get ready for the speedy journey through the following verse. Thus, the soundtrack of each verse is so strong that it goes in parallel with the meaning.
4- His deliberate avoiding strange, rough and oddly pronouned sounds, and constantly selecting ideal terms with harmonious sounds that keeps the recipient away from musical dissonance.
This is a brief highlight on some creative aspects of a poet whose poetry deserves to be read and analysed time and again.
26/07/2010