TY - JOUR
T1 - The Roots of Romantic Topoi
T2 - A Local Intercultural Encounter and a Glocal Transcultural Experience
AU - Al-Jilani Ben Zid, Mounir
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 Librairie du Liban Publishers. All rights reserved.
PY - 2023/1/10
Y1 - 2023/1/10
N2 - Many critics have speculated on the influence of Western literature on English romantic poets. Mainstream scholars have often referred to Greek, Roman, and Western sources, attributing the genealogy of romantic topoi to the West, while turning a blind eye to the impact of non-Western culture. As a result, the influence of Arabic materials on English Romantic poetry during the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries remains insufficiently recognized. The present study challenges the pervasive assumption that English Romantic poets were influenced mainly by the Western philosophical, religious, and literary sources. Instead, it provides evidence supporting the view that the roots of romantic topoi derive from both intercultural encounters and transcultural experiences. In particular, the role played by Oriental, Arab, and Muslim writers in helping English romantic poets develop their themes, characters, imagery, and narrative modes is discussed. Moreover, Arab-Islamic influences on Western literature is acknowledged to rectify the misconception that romantic topoi solely resulted from the Western intercultural encounters. The analyses presented in the paper demonstrate that Arabic and Islamic sources inspired British romantic poets like Coleridge, Wordsworth, and Keats, helping them not only in finding their own voices but also in developing their themes, metaphors, symbols, characters, and images.
AB - Many critics have speculated on the influence of Western literature on English romantic poets. Mainstream scholars have often referred to Greek, Roman, and Western sources, attributing the genealogy of romantic topoi to the West, while turning a blind eye to the impact of non-Western culture. As a result, the influence of Arabic materials on English Romantic poetry during the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries remains insufficiently recognized. The present study challenges the pervasive assumption that English Romantic poets were influenced mainly by the Western philosophical, religious, and literary sources. Instead, it provides evidence supporting the view that the roots of romantic topoi derive from both intercultural encounters and transcultural experiences. In particular, the role played by Oriental, Arab, and Muslim writers in helping English romantic poets develop their themes, characters, imagery, and narrative modes is discussed. Moreover, Arab-Islamic influences on Western literature is acknowledged to rectify the misconception that romantic topoi solely resulted from the Western intercultural encounters. The analyses presented in the paper demonstrate that Arabic and Islamic sources inspired British romantic poets like Coleridge, Wordsworth, and Keats, helping them not only in finding their own voices but also in developing their themes, metaphors, symbols, characters, and images.
KW - Arabic-Islamic sources
KW - intercultural encounter
KW - romantic topoi
KW - roots
KW - transcultural experience
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U2 - 10.33806/ijaes2000.23.1.11
DO - 10.33806/ijaes2000.23.1.11
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85150077441
SN - 1680-0982
VL - 23
SP - 203
EP - 216
JO - International Journal of Arabic-English Studies
JF - International Journal of Arabic-English Studies
IS - 1
ER -