POETIC MUSICALITY IN THE POETRY OF ZAFIR AL-HADDAD

This study, entitled “Poetic Musicality in the Poetry of Zafir al-Haddad,” presents a stylistic and analytical investigation aimed at examining the rhythmic structure in al-Haddad’s poetry by exploring poetic musicality in both its external and internal dimensions, and by clarifying its role in shaping aesthetic meaning and enhancing the psychological impact on the recipient. The study is grounded in the premise that poetic rhythm is not merely a formal feature, but rather a structural component intrinsically linked to content and actively involved in meaning production. The research adopts a stylistic approach, drawing upon the principles of prosody, phonetics, and Arabic rhetoric. It integrates description, analysis, and interpretation, supported by selected poetic examples from al-Haddad's corpus. The first section external addresses musicality, represented by meter and rhyme as the fundamental pillars of poetic rhythm. It demonstrates the diversity of metrical patterns employed by al-Haddad—such as al-ṭawīl, al-kāmil, al-khafīf, and al-basīṭ—and highlights their suitability for expressing various poetic purposes and emotional states. The study also examines the function of rhyme, both absolute and restricted, in achieving phonetic harmony and generating rhythmic effects ranging from fluid continuity to deliberate pauses that reinforce meaning. The second section focuses on internal musicality, manifested through phonetic and stylistic devices within the text, including repetition, paronomasia (jinās), and initial rhyme (taṣrīʿ). The analysis reveals the centrality of repetition in its various forms (phonemic, lexical, and structural) in constructing rhythm and deepening semantic impact. It further illustrates the role of paronomasia in balancing phonetic aesthetics with semantic depth, reflecting the poet's skillful manipulation of rhetorical resources. Additionally, the study discusses the function of initial rhyme as a rhythmic device that frames poetic openings and reinforces sonic cohesion. The study concludes that Zafir al-Haddad demonstrates a high level of artistic awareness in employing rhythmic elements, successfully achieving an integration between external and internal musicality that serves and enriches the poetic experience both aesthetically and semantically. It affirms that rhythm in his poetry constitutes a dynamic structure wherein sounds and linguistic patterns interact to produce a coherent and impactful poetic discourse. Accordingly, this research contributes to stylistic studies by shedding light on the rhythmic dimension in al-Haddad's poetry and by emphasizing the dialectical relationship between form and content in Arabic poetic texts.