Justifying Elision through Poetic Necessity: An Analysis and Discussion

Abou El Wafa Taha Ahmed, Alyaa; عبدالعزيز, وحيد الدين طاهر; معروف, أسماء محمود محمد

doi:10.21608/qarts.2025.367216.2182

Justifying Elision through Poetic Necessity: An Analysis and Discussion

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

¹ مقيدة ومسجلة بالدراسات العليا في قسم اللغة العربية- كلية الآداب - جامعة جنوب الوادي

² أستاذ العلوم اللغوية- كلية الآداب- جامعة جنوب الوادي

³ مدرس العلوم اللغوية- كلية الآداب- جامعة جنوب الوادي

10.21608/qarts.2025.367216.2182

Abstract

The principal objective of the study is to elucidate one of the compelling justifications for elision, namely poetic necessity, or the necessity of meter. This necessity serves as a gorge to various forms of elision, as poetry grants a special license—not only for omission but also for addition and modification. It is a broad license that provides poets with a “pass” to navigate their discourse beyond the scrutiny of grammarians and enter the realm of creative freedom. Consequently, poets may expand through addition, reduce through elision, and even challenge grammatical norms, allowing in poetry what would be impermissible in other forms of language. Thereupon, the poet is granted what others cannot attain.
The study adopts a descriptive approach, which entails detailed exposition, explanation, and subsequent clarification and reasoning. It is structured into an introduction, which highlights its significance, benefits, objectives, and methodology, followed by three main sections: the first addresses the definition and nature of necessity; the second examines the types and forms of necessities (addition, omission, and modification); and the third explores the categories of necessity, including commendable necessity, objectionable necessity, and what Ibn Asfour refers to as the “objectionable necessities.”

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