The general background

Romanticism in modern Arabic poetry reached its momentum between the two world wars. There were obvious signs that it was on the wane immediately after the Second World War. This is not at all surprising, for the war was an important landmark in the literary no less than in the political, social and economic history of the Arab world: the traumatic changes it had brought about, both directly and indirectly, had a powerful impact on the poetry of the time. Despite its distinguished contribution romanticism had by that time developed its own conventional diction, imagery, themes, phraseology and attitudes, thus becoming increasingly irrelevant to an Arab world that was growing painfully aware of its harsh political and social realities. It was criticized on the grounds of being escapist, immature, wanting in reality, as devoid of a hard core of sense, as too vague and lacking precision, as sentimental, false, sugary, facile and verbose. Whatever be the degree of justice in these accusations, in the work of the best romantic poets we have noticed an unmistakable accentuation of the subjective element in experience. In their poetry romantic sorrow, nostalgia, vague metaphysical doubts and yearnings, the sense of mystery in the universe, the idealization of women and the transfiguring effect of love, became common themes. It is true that with the exception of very few poets who like Abu Shabaka or Naji were almost exclusively preoccupied with their inner personal experience, at no point do we find in Arabic romantic poetry, whether in the Arab world itself or in America, a complete withdrawal from the events of the external world.