Social Ideology within Reception in the Poetry of Abu Tammam “A Critical Analytical Study”

Abstract

          The process of reception constitutes a central pillar of artistic work, whether poetry or prose. The artist, regardless of the type of art, imagines an implicit reader standing before him, discerning what affects that reader and what does not. This is clearly evident in both poetic and prose artistic writing, where the process of linguistic artistic reception—given its importance—has become a focal point of study for many critics, foremost among them ʿAbd al-Qāhir al-Jurjānī, who viewed the reader as an active participant in constructing textual meaning, engaging simultaneously in semantic and aesthetic effort.

This study addresses the ideology of reception from a social perspective in the poetry of Abū Tammām, the Abbasid poet whose work is distinguished by exceptional artistic power—a power that placed him at the summit of poets of that era. The research focuses on social values as part of the broader system of values encompassed by the concept of ideology in his poetry, across its various themes. This includes the values of the Islamic religion, moral values, as well as the customs of social convention. All of this is examined through the presentation of poetic examples by the poet representing the three social patterns, and through their analysis in an artistic and critical manner consistent with the aims of the research.