These seven poems, translated by A. J. Arberry in 1957, are the most famous survivors of a vast mass of poetry produced in the Arabian Desert in the sixth century. Arberrys introduction explains to the reader what was known about the poems and how they came to be preserved and distributed over time. The epilogue particularly interrogates the authenticity of the poems and tracks how they have been transmitted over time.
This work will be of interest to those studying Persian and Middle-Eastern literature and history.
Prologue: The Golden Poems;
1. The Wandering King MuAllaqa of Imr
Al-Qais
2. Whom the Gods Loved? MuAllaqa of Tarafa
3. The Moralist MuAllaqa
of Zuhair
4. The Centenarian MuAllaqa of Labid
5. The Black Knight MuAllaqa
of Antara
6. The Regicide MuAllaqa of Amr
7. The Leper MuAllaqa of
Al-Harith; Epilogue: True or False?; Index
A. J. Arberry
