Neoplatonist Echoes in Modern Arabic Poetry: The Case of Muḥammad ʿAfīfī Maṭar
Files
Department
English & Comparative Literature Department
Abstract
The article presents an overview of the impact of Neoplatonism and Sufism on modern Arabic poetry. It addresses specifically the example of the Egyptian poet Muḥammad ʿAfīfī Maṭar (1935-2010) and the correspondence of his poetic universe with that of Plotinus. As a student and later an instructor of philosophy, Maṭar was influenced by his mentor ʿAbd al-Raḥmān Badawī who had edited the Arab Plotinus. Maṭar’s poetic collections, interviews, and memoir point to his Neoplatonist and Sufi drive through references, allusions, and subtexts. In Maṭar’s visionary ascension in the poem Qirāʾa (Recital), Qur’anic phrases intersect with philosophical motifs of Plotinus’s Enneads
Publication Date
4-6-2022
Document Type
Book Chapter
Book Title
Faces of the Infinite: Neoplatonism and Poetry at the Confluence of Africa, Asia and Europe
Editors
Stefan Sperl (ed.), Yorgos Dedes (ed.)
ISBN
9780197267257
Publisher
Oxford University Press
City
Oxford
First Page
404
Last Page
418
Keywords
Muhammad Afifi Matar, Plotinus, ‘Abd al-Rahman Badawi, Sufism, Ascension, Qur’an
Disciplines
Comparative Literature | Language and Literacy Education | Poetry
Recommended Citation
APA Citation
Ghazoul, F. J.
(2022). Neoplatonist Echoes in Modern Arabic Poetry: The Case of Muḥammad ʿAfīfī Maṭar. In Stefan Sperl (ed.), Yorgos Dedes (ed.) (Eds.), Faces of the Infinite: Neoplatonism and Poetry at the Confluence of Africa, Asia and Europe (pp. 404-418). Oxford University Press.
MLA Citation
Ghazoul, Ferial J..
"Neoplatonist Echoes in Modern Arabic Poetry: The Case of Muḥammad ʿAfīfī Maṭar." Faces of the Infinite: Neoplatonism and Poetry at the Confluence of Africa, Asia and Europe, edited by Stefan Sperl (ed.), Yorgos Dedes (ed.), Oxford University Press, 2022. pp. 404-418
