Lewis-Gibson : Poetry

Dunaš Ibn Labrāṭ

Lewis-Gibson

<p style='text-align: justify;'>Stanzas 52-101 of Dunaš Ibn Labrāṭ’s polemical poem לדורש החכמות ועצות ומזמות in which he criticises the grammatical and lexicographical work of Menaḥem b. Saruq’s Maḥberet. Each stanza consists of four short clause units, the first three of which share the same rhyme. The final unit of each stanza ends with the main rhymed syllable of the entire poem: רים. The layout of the poem emphasises this structure. Each stanza is written on two lines. The first line contains the first three units (each unit separated by a dot). The second, short, centre justified line contains the fourth clause unit only. Various marginal and interlinear additions have been made, apparently by the same hand. Isolated words have been vocalised using either the Tiberian or the simple Babylonian system. Ca. 11th-12th century.</p>