The Definition and Mechanisms of Condensation (Takṯīf) in Modern Arabic Poetry: Muqāṭaʿa by Ḫalīl Muṭrān and Raʾs by Sinān Anṭūn as Examples

This article examines the term “condensation” (takṯīf) and its presence in Arabic poetry. It explains the meaning and importance of the term as well as its relation to the specific meanings poets seek to convey in the text. The study then searches for the mechanisms that create textual condensation, whose ratio is determined by condensation’s very presence in any given text. As a result of this study, this article will determine the factors that strengthen or weaken textual condensation in Arabic poetry.

To clarify how the mechanisms of condensation are employed in poems and how these mechanisms contribute to the meaning that we draw as readers of particular poems, we will apply our theoretical knowledge to two poems from two different periods. To obviate the effect of text length on condensation, we have chosen poems which contain a similar number of words: Muqāṭaʿa by Ḫalīl Muṭrān (1872–1949) and Raʾs by Sinān Anṭūn (born 1967). Our analysis will then determine which poem is more condensed and the reasons behind that condensation.