British Orientalism and Classical Arabic Literature: A Study in Reception, According to Jauss’s Theory Majid AbdulHameed Abed Submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy The University of Leeds School of Languages, Cultures and Societies Arabic Department March 2016 1 I confirm that the work submitted is my own and that appropriate credit has been given where reference has been made to the work of others. This copy has been supplied on the understanding that it is copyright material and that no quotation from the thesis may be published without .proper acknowledgement © 2016 The University of Leeds and Majid AbudlHameed Abed The right of Majid AbudlHameed Abed to be identified as Author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and .Patents Act 1988 2 Acknowledgements This thesis has benefitted from the great support and guidance of my main supervisor Dr. Sameh Hanna. I thank him so much for his special valuable insights that he provided through his discussion and useful feedback. I would also like to thank my previous supervisors Professor Zahia Salhi and Dr. Duncan Wheeler who encouraged and supported me in shaping the first two chapters of the thesis. I would especially like to thank Dr. Falih Al-Emara for his unlimited support and valuable comments and unfading discussions during the years of my study at Leeds University. My thanks also go to my friend Dr. Ibrahem M Ibrahem for his useful comments and support. I also extend thanks to my colleague Mr. Hassan Mizori. Many thanks go to Professor James Dickins who suggested me some basic references and discussed critical points in the upgrade report. I am grateful to Mrs. Karen Priestley for her help and support during my study. Special thanks go to my family especially my mother, wife, brothers, and sisters who have always offered their great support. 3 Abstract The primary aim of this thesis is to develop an aesthetic approach for the study of the British Orientalist discourse in relation to Arabic classical literature. The thesis explores three literary eras; Pre colonialism, colonialism, and Post colonialism, adopting Hans Robert Jauss’s theorisation of ‘literary history’ as a theoretical framework. The theoretical framework of the thesis is, also, informed by Edward Said’s seminal contributions to the subject, though without necessarily endorsing all his assumptions and conclusions. The thesis is divided into six chapters. In Chapter 1, Juass’s assumption in its relation to literary history is explored, displaying how it can be a valuable framework to study the history of the British Orientalist discourse. Chapter 2 is designed to examine Edward Said’s understanding of Orientalism, by exploring his supporters-opponents’ views. The last three Chapters are organized to investigate the contributions made by the British Orientalists and critique of the impact these contributions had on our understanding of Arabic literature. The thesis is concluded by chapter six, which summarizes the important findings of the work. The key finding of the study is that although there are disparate responses in dealing with classical Arabic literature, most British scholars belong to the same pure academic school of knowledge. This knowledge has accumulated systematically over a long period of research and it is still being built upon. What is most remarkable about this academic knowledge is that it was produced without political involvement. 4 Table of Contents Transliteration Chart…………………………………………………………………………………….9 List of Tables…………………………………………………………………………………………...….11 Chapter One: Introduction………………………………………………………………….12-39 1.1. General …………….…………………….………………….……………….………………….…..12 1.2. Focus of the Study ….…………………………….…………………………………………….14 1.3. Aims of the Study ……………………….….………………………….………………..……15 1.4. Motivation ……………………………………….……………….……………….…………..…….17 1.5. Research Questions.………………….……………….…………………………………………18 1.6. Jauss’s Brief Biography ………….…………………….……….………………….…………19 1.7. Literary History and Reception Theory ………………………………………………24 1.8. A Fusion of the Horizon or a Reader's Expectation ………………….………….26 1.9. The Historical and the Aesthetic Approaches ……………..……….….……...…28 1.10. Theoretical Framework ……………………………………………………….…………....…30 1.11. Definition and Scope………………………………………………………………………….….37 Chapter Two: Review of Related Literature.……………………………….….40-68 2.1. Previous Studies…………………………………………………………………………………….40 2.2. Orientalism: Historical Background ………………………………..……………………47 2.3. Origins of Orientalism………………………………………………….………………….…….50 5 2.4. Orientalism: Pre and Post Saidism……………………….………………….…………….51 2.5. Research Area………………………………………………………………………………….……..66 Chapter Three: Classical Arabic Literature in the Era of British Pre Colonialism…………………………………………………………………….…………….......69-103 3.1. Intoduction……………………………………………………………………….…………………....69 3.2. Early East-West Contacts …………….….…………………………….……………..…..…69 3.3. The Orient as Textual Universe ……………………………………………….…….….….74 3.4. Pioneer Orientalists and Arabic Literature……………………………………...…….77 3.5. The Traveller: Pococke’s Reading of Tograi’s Poem…………………………….…80 3.6. Same text and Different Readings: Pococke and Carlyle………………….…..89 3.7. 'Specimens of Arabian Poetry' as Carlyle’s 'Non-Objective Reading'….. 94 3.8. Circularity of Response or Reproduction of the Same Texts: Ockley’s Response…………….……………………………………….………………...………………98 3.9. Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………….…….... 102 Chapter Four: Classical Arabic Literature in the Era of British Colonialism …………………………………………………………….…………………………104-161 4.1. Introduction………………………………………………………………………………….…..….104 4.2. Seeking the Origins of Oriental Languages and Their Literature ………………………………………………………………….….………………………….………………....105 4.3. The Age of Philology……………….………….……………………………………….……….107 4.4. British Philology and the Origins of Arabic Literature: Sir William Jones’s Effort……………………………….……………………………………………113 6 4.5. The Origins of Arabic Poetry: Translation, Edition and Annotation: Sir Charles Lyall’s Philological Approach………….………………………………….……...117 4.5.1. The Origins of Arabic Poetry: Margoliouth’s Critical Study……………….126 4.6. The Great Linguistic Talent of Preston and Palmer ……………………….……133 4.7. The ‘Dervish’ and Classical Arabic Literature ……………………………………...143 4.7.1. Nicholson’s A Literary History of the Arabs………………………………..…….148 4.7.2. Mystical Poetry: The case of Abu 'l-'Ala al-Ma'arri's Poetry in Nicholson’s Philosophical Reading.…………………………………….……….….…153 4.8. Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………….….…………160 Chapter Five: Classical Arabic Literature in the Era of British Post colonialism.…….………………………………………………….………………...162 -222 5.1. Introduction ……………………...…………………………………………………...…………..162 5.2. Understanding Post colonialism and Orientalism……………….……….……...162 5.3. Arberry and the Charter of Modern Orientalism: Orientalism as Pure Knowledge………………………….……………….………….….…….…166 5.4. Arberry and Nicholson's Spiritual Reading of Literature…………….…….…177 5.5. Seeking the Origins of Arabic Prose Literature: The Return to Philology …………………………………………………………………….…………………………….………………………….………191 5.6. Montgomery and Irwin’s Reading of Classical Prose.…………….………..….207 5.7. Different Approaches to the Study of Classical Arabic Poetry…………….214 5.7.1. Structuralist Approach: Sperl’s Reading of Abbasid Poetry………...….214 5.7.2. Pedagogical and Philological Approaches: Jones and Montgomery….218 7 5.8. Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………………….….221 6. Chapter Six: Conclusion and Recommendations ………………223-238 6.1. Research Findings …………………………………………………………………………….….223 6.2. Research Questions Revisited …………………………………………………….……...227 6.3. Recommendations………………………………………………………………………….…….238 Notes…………………………………………………………………………………………………….…..….239 References…………………………………………………………………………………………….257-269 8 Transliteration Chart This study adopts the DIN 31635 transliteration of the Arabic alphabet, which is a standard set by the Deutsches Institut für Normung (DIN). Below is a chart of the Arabic letters with examples and transliteration designed for this purpose. This chart is directly adopted from Al-Emara (2014). Arabic Letter Example Gloss DIN Plain Letter Name Form English State ḥāl Hal حال ʾa ا Hope ʾamal 'amal أ َمل ʾia أ Verse ʾāya 'aaya آ َية aʾaa آ 'Sky samāʾ samaa َسماء aa ء House bayt Bayt َبيت ba ب Repentance tawba Tawba َتو َبة ta ت Girl fatāt Fataat فتاة ta ة Ox ṯawr Thawr ثور ṯa ث Mount jabal Jabal ج َبل ja ج Rope ḥabl Habl حبل ḥa ح Peach ḳawḳ Khawkh خوخ ḳa خ Bloody dāma Daama دا َم Da د Gold ḏahab Zhahab ذ َهب ḏa ذ God rab Rab َرب Ra ر Increase zayn Zayn زاد za ز Sound sālim Salim َسل ِيم Sa س 9 Thistle šawk Shawk َشوك Ša ش Voice ṣawt Sawt َصوت ṣa ص Stray ḍāl Dal ضال ḍa ض Long ṭawīl Tawil َطويل ṭa ط Shadow ḓil Dhil ِظل ḓa ظ Eye ʿayn Ayn َعين ʿa ع Forest ġāba Ghaba غابة Ġa غ Mare faras Faras َف َرس Fa ف Arc qaws Qaws َقوس qa ق Cup kaʾs ka's َكأس Ka ك Night layl Layl َليل la ل Maha mahā Maha َمها ma م Noor nūr Nur ُنور na ن Crescent hilāl Hilal ِهﻻل ha ه Time waqt Waqt َوقت wa و Question sʾāl s'al ٌسؤال ʾa ؤ Jesus yasūʿ Yasu َيسوع ya ي Desire haw Haw َهوى aa ى 'Innocent barīʾ bari َبريء ʾa ىء 10 List of Tables Table 3.1. Sample of Spelling Errors in Carlyle’s Publication………………...93 11 Chapter One 1. Introduction 1.1. General This thesis seeks to address questions related to the history of British Orientalism. Drawing on Jauss’s theorisation of ‘literary history’, this study aims to explore the contributions made by British Orientalists and