Madīd_(metre)
Madīd (metre)
Classical Arabic Poetic Metre
The Madīd (مَدِيد, "protracted") metre is one of the metres used in classical Arabic poetry. The theoretical pattern of the metre is as follows, where u = a short syllable, – a long syllable, and x = anceps (either long or short):
- فَاعِلَاتُنْ فَاعِلُنْ فَاعِلَاتُنْ فَاعِلُنْ
- Fāʿilātun Fāʿilun Fāʿilātun Fāʿilun
- | x u – x | x u – | x u – – | x u – |
However, more usually the metre is found in a trimeter version. The full version of the trimeter is as follows:
- فَاعِلَاتُنْ فَاعِلُنْ فَاعِلَاتُنْ
- Fāʿilātun Fāʿilun Fāʿilātun
- | x u – x | x u – | x u – – |
In two of the examples below, the metre is used in a catalectic trimeter version (i.e. shortened by one syllable), as follows:
- فَاعِلَاتُنْ فَاعِلُنْ فَاعِلُنْ
- Fāʿilātun Fāʿilun Fāʿilun
- | x u – x | x u – | x u – |
In the above catalectic trimeter version, the 2nd and 3rd anceps syllables (x) are usually long (never both short),[1] and the 3rd is almost always short.[2] The final foot | u u – | may become | – – |.
The Madīd metre is only rarely used. Only 0.43% of Vadet's corpus of 1st–3rd century AD poetry are in this metre.[3] It does not occur at all in Stoetzer's corpus of 8th-century poems[3] or in the 10th-century poet al-Mutanabbi.[4] The tetrameter version is rarely found in practice except in prosodists' examples.[5]