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Comparative studies of a number of mixed prose-and-verse literatures, from Europe to the Orient, from classical culture to the 19th century. In virtually all the literary traditions of the world there are works of verbal art that depend for part of their effect on the juxtaposition of prose and verse. This volume takes the first step towards a comparative study of "prosimetrum", the mixture of prose and verse, with essays by leading linguists and literary scholars of a selection of prosimetrical traditions. The nature of what constitutes verse or prose is one underlying question addressed. An outline of historical developments emerges, especially for Europe and the Near East, with articles on classical, medieval and nineteenth-century literatures. Oriental prosimetrical literatures discussed include that of Vedic Indiaand the old literary cultures of China and Japan; also represented are oral and oral-derived folk literatures of recent centuries in Africa, the West, and Inner Asia. Professor KARL REICHL teaches in the English Department at the University of Bonn; Professor JOSEPH HARRIS teaches in the English Department at Harvard University. Contributors: KRISTIN HANSON, PAUL KIPARSKY, JAN ZIOLKOWSKI, ARDIS BUTTERFIELD, PROINSIAS Mac CANA, JOSEPH HARRIS, JUDITH RYAN, W.F.H. NICOLAISEN, LEE HARING, STEVEN WEITZMAN, WOLFHART HEINRICHS, DWIGHT REYNOLDS, JULIE SCOTT MEISAMI, KARL REICHL, WALTHER HEISSIG

The Routledge Encyclopedia of Arabic Literature is an authoritative reference resource, bringing together entries on key authors, works, genres, terms, concepts and issues in Arabic literature.

Covering material from the classical period through the transitional to the modern, this new paperback edition is now available for the first time in one volume.

This volume:

• combines both classical and modern Arabic literature in one work
• includes diacritics
• offers a broad geographical scope, including Africa, Arabia, Egypt, Persia, Spain and Turkey
• contain chronological tables of the dynasties.

The Routledge Encyclopedia of Arabic Literature contains over 1300 entries by world-renowned experts that combine current research with historical survey. Alphabetically organised and fully indexed, this volume offers useful suggestions for further reading after each entry and a glossary of key terms.

Dr. Meisami discloses previously neglected stylistic qualities and ethical purposes in medieval Persian court poetry, and shows that court poets were also moral instructors who examined and celebrated the values they shared with their audiences. The book also takes into account the close relationship between Persian and Arabic court poetry.

Originally published in 1987.

The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These paperback editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

"It was a refreshing, old-fashioned pleasure to read Julie Scott Meisami's verse translation of, and introduction and notes to, this twelfth-century Persian allegorical romance." -Orhan Pahmuk, in the Times Literary Supplement

Dr. Meisami discloses previously neglected stylistic qualities and ethical purposes in medieval Persian court poetry, and shows that court poets were also moral instructors who examined and celebrated the values they shared with their audiences. The book also takes into account the close relationship between Persian and Arabic court poetry. Originally published in 1987. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

"It was a refreshing, old-fashioned pleasure to read Julie Scott Meisami's verse translation of, and introduction and notes to, this twelfth-century Persian allegorical romance." -Orhan Pahmuk, in the Times Literary Supplement

Winner of the 1999 British-Kuwait Friendship Society Prize in Middle Eastern Studies. Described by the BKFS reviewer as "A ground-breaking work on a subject that has been almost totally neglected." "Why write history in Persian?" Persian historical writing has received little attention as compared with Arabic, especially as seen in the early (pre-Mongol) period. Within the larger context of the development of Islamic historiography from the tenth through the twelfth centuries, the case of Persian historical writing demands special attention. Discussions tend to concentrate on its sources in pre-Islamic Persian and in Arabic works, while the reasons for its emergence, its connections with Iranian and Arabic models, its political and cultural functions, and its reception, have been virtually ignored. This study answers these questions and addresses issues relating to the motivation for writing the works in question; its purpose; the role of the author, patrons and audiences; the choice of language and the reasons for that choice; the place of historical writing in the broader debate over the suitability of Persian for scholarly writing.