Humour and Eccentricity in Ṭabaqāt al-Šu‘arā’ al-muḥdaṯīn by Ibn al-Mu‘tazz

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to call attention to this book by Ibn al-Mu‘tazz, sometimes neglected, emphasizing its worth as a literary work and as a source for the study of humour in Arabic literature. Ṭabaqāt al-shu‘arā’ al-muḥdathīn is a very curious repository of biographies of ‘Abbāsid poets, with especial attention to the least known among them, but with personalities that might give occasion to tell a good story about their wit or their folly. So we have, at the same time that we receive information about some very famous poets, a remarkable record full of empathy and humour with tales of madmen, profligate people and rogues and scoundrels boasting of their trades.