The Repetitive Structure and the Horizon of Expectations: A Reading of Ainiat Al-Hadirah

Abstract

In order to provide a new reading for the Pre-Islamic poetic text Ainiat Al-Hadirah, the present study uses the theoretical and critical concepts of the reception theory. The study is divided into two main parts.The first is the theoretical part in which the researcher proves the efficient role that repetition plays in achieving the concept of textual coherence. In addition, the researcher investigates the effect of repetition in light of its relation to an important concept in the Reception Theory; that is “Horizon of Expectations”. The second part is the practical one that highlights the categorical dimensions created by repetition which can be considered a categorical gap and a stylistic technique in the poem Al-Hadirah. The repetitive structure of the poem highlights many crucial and significant issues such as women traveling by camel (Tha’inah), the horizons of male astonishment, the tribe and time influence, the practical working self and the mythical experience.