Description of Damascus in Al-Buhturi's Poetry

Abstract

As a result of the development of the new civilization, the city became one of the prominent phenomena in the poetry of the Abbasid era. This poet touched on the description of many cities that he visited during his life, and among these cities is the city of Damascus. Al-Buhturi described some of the features of this city in his laudatory poems. He does not single out an independent poem for it, but paints its image either in the opening of some of his poems instead of standing in front of the worn-out ruins or the beloved, or within the poems; Based on what was mentioned, the study relies on the descriptive-analytical approach, by relying on the verses that the poet said about Damascus in his collection. As for the most important findings of the study, it is that Al-Buhturi employed some creative industries such as alliteration, antithesis, exaggeration, Quranic intertextuality, and non-innovative ones, such as sensory analogy, in order to depict the city of Damascus, and he repeats some letters in his verses in order to create a musical melody; On the other hand, he often describes nature in its depiction and merges the living nature with the silent one. However, the greatest luck in this field is related to live nature, as it depicts the city in moving pictures. Al-Buhturi admires the spring when he talks about the city of Damascus, and perhaps this admiration is considered a symbol of giving and generosity or the prosperity of life during the time of his praises.