HEMICON: Hemistich Ending Concordance

    From The Encyclopedia of Arabic Rhetoric

    التصريع / المرادف
    HEMICON: Hemistich Ending Concordance
    CategoryLinguistic Embellishments
    (‘ilm al-badī‘)
    SubcategoryRhythmic Structuring & Balance
      
    Balaghascore.com
    CodeCD-2
      
    BalaghaBase.org
    CodeQ133
      
    OpenAlex.org
    IDW4415412443
      
    Cite this page
    🔗 DOI10.64393/balagha.Q133
     Download PDF
      
    Taxonomy
    ARDTv0.1.0, v0.1.1

    Definition

    Hemistich Ending Concordance (al-taṣrī‘ / al-murādif) is an Arabic rhetorical device in poetry where the final segment of the first hemistich (ṣadr) agrees with the final segment of the second hemistich (ʿajuz) in rhyme (al-qāfiya), with some descriptions also including agreement in grammatical inflection (al-iʿrāb) and metre (al-wazn).[1][2] It may also be described as the agreement of the end-words of both hemistichs of a line in their final letter.[1] It is most commonly found in the opening line of a poem, though it may recur at intervals.[1][3][2] The term is derived from miṣrāʿ, meaning a rhymed hemistich.[3] Tasrīʿ is specific to poetry; its analogue in prose is sajʿ.[1][2] It may also be described as running like the poem's rhyme (al-qāfiya), with the sole difference being that it falls at the end of the first hemistich rather than the second.[2]

    Mechanism

    • A line of Arabic poetry (bayt) consists of two hemistichs: the first is the ṣadr and the second is the ʿajuz.[1]
    • Tasrīʿ occurs at the end of each hemistich, where the final segment (juzʾ) of the ṣadr agrees with the final segment of the ʿajuz.[1]
    • Abd al-Ghani (2011) describes this agreement using overlapping formulations: agreement in rhyme and grammatical inflection; agreement in the final letter; and agreement in metre.[1]
    • Heinrichs (1998) describes tasrīʿ as giving the poem’s rhyme also to the first hemistich of a line.[3]
    • The analogy given by Abd al-Ghani (2011) is that of the two leaves of a door (miṣrāʿān), where the two hemistichs of the poetic line resemble the two leaves of a double door.[1]
    • It is most commonly found at the opening of the poem, but may recur in later lines.[1][3][2]
    • Ibn Sinān describes tasrīʿ as running like the poem's rhyme (al-qāfiya), the only difference being that it falls at the end of the first hemistich (ṣadr) rather than the second, likening the two hemistichs to the two leaves of a door (miṣrāʿā al-bāb).[2]
    • In this encyclopedia, the mechanism is described as the extension of the poem’s rhyme to the first hemistich, so that the two hemistich endings correspond in their terminal sound.
    • The source formulations are preserved as overlapping descriptions rather than converted into separate subtypes or a rigid checklist.

    Recognition

    Tasrīʿ may be present when:

    • The final segment of the first hemistich agrees with the final segment of the second hemistich.[1]
    • The two hemistich endings share the poem’s rhyme or final letter.[1][3]
    • The agreement may also be described in terms of grammatical inflection or metre where these are part of the source formulation.[1]

    The following diagnostic tests aid identification:

    • Identify the end-word or final segment of the first hemistich and the end-word or final segment of the second hemistich.
    • Check whether the ending of the first hemistich shares the rhyme or final letter of the second hemistich.
    • Where relevant, note whether the two endings also correspond in grammatical inflection or metrical form, but do not treat these as separate subtypes unless explicitly required by the source being followed.

    Diagnostic Rhetorical Effects

    • Tasrīʿ gives the line a musical quality (jarsan mūsīqiyyan) that appeals to hearing and understanding.[1]
    • It pleases the soul through the musicality of sound.[1]
    • Ibn Rashīq considers it evidence of the poet's natural fluency (quwwat al-ṭabʿ) and abundance of material (kathrat al-māda).[2]
    • Ibn Rashīq also notes that when it recurs beyond the opening line in a qaṣīda, it may indicate affectation (al-takalluf).[2]

    Applying the Recognition Framework

    The information on this page can be used to evaluate whether this device is present in a candidate lexical item using the Specific Device Recognition part of the Universal Framework for Identifying Arabic Rhetorical Devices:

    • Use the Definition, Mechanism, and Recognition sections of this page in Step 1.
    • Apply the substitution test in Step 2.
    • Consider contextual indicators in Step 3.
    • Use the Diagnostic Rhetorical Effects section of this page in Step 4.

    Examples

    Source Example

    قِفَا نَبْكِ مِنْ ذِكْرَى حَبِيبٍ وَمَنْزِلِ — بِسِقْطِ اللِّوَى بَيْنَ الدَّخُولِ فَحَوْمَلِ

    Halt, let us weep at the memory of a beloved and a dwelling-place — at the sands of al-Liwā between al-Dakhūl and Ḥawmal.

    Explanation
    The end-word of the first hemistich (manzili) and the end-word of the second hemistich (Ḥawmali) share the same final consonant, illustrating tasrīʿ.[1][2]
    Source Example

    أَلَا عِمْ صَبَاحًا أَيُّهَا الطَّلَلُ الْبَالِي — وَهَلْ يَنْعَمَنْ مَنْ كَانَ فِي الْعُصُرِ الْخَالِي؟

    Good morning to you, O crumbling ruin — can one who lived in ages past ever know peace?

    Explanation
    The end-word of the first hemistich (al-bālī) and the end-word of the second hemistich (al-khālī) share the same final consonant, illustrating tasrīʿ.[1]
    Source Example

    سَكَتُّ فَغَرَّ أَعْدَائِي السُّكُوتُ — وَظَنُّونِي لِأَهْلِي قَدْ نَسِيتُ

    I fell silent, so my silence deceived my enemies — and they thought I had forgotten my people.

    Explanation
    The end-word of the first hemistich (al-sukūtu) and the end-word of the second hemistich (nasītu) share the same final consonant, illustrating tasrīʿ.[1]
    Source Example

    خَلِيلَيَّ مُرَّا بِي عَلَى أُمِّ جُنْدَبِ — لِأَقْضِيَ حَاجَاتِ الْفُؤَادِ الْمُعَذَّبِ

    My two companions, pass with me by Umm Jundab — so that I may fulfil the needs of the tormented heart.

    Explanation
    The end-word of the first hemistich (Jundabi) and the end-word of the second hemistich (al-muʿadhdhabi) share the same final consonant, illustrating tasrīʿ.[1]
    Source Example

    أَفَاطِمُ مَهْلًا بَعْضَ هَذَا التَّدَلُّلِ — وَإِنْ كُنْتِ قَدْ أَزْمَعْتِ صَرْمِي فَأَجْمِلِي

    O Fāṭima, gently — enough of this coquetry; and if you have resolved to break with me, then do so gracefully.

    Explanation
    The end-word of the first hemistich (al-tadalluli) and the end-word of the second hemistich (fa-ajmilī) share the same final consonant, illustrating tasrīʿ.[1]
    Source Example

    الرَّأْيُ قَبْلَ شَجَاعَةِ الشُّجْعَانِ — هُـوَ أَوَّلٌ وَهِيَ الْمَحَـلُّ الثَّانِي

    Sound judgement comes before the courage of the brave — it comes first, and courage is in the second place.

    Explanation
    The end-word of the first hemistich (al-shujʿāni) and the end-word of the second hemistich (al-thānī) share the same final consonant, illustrating tasrīʿ.[1]
    Source Example

    قَدْ عَلَّمَ الْبَيْنُ مِنَّا الْبَيْنَ أَجْفَانَا — تَدْمَى وَأَلَّفَ فِي ذَا الْقَلْبِ أَحْزَانَا

    Separation has taught our eyelids separation — they bleed, and it has gathered griefs in this heart.

    Explanation
    The end-word of the first hemistich (ajfānā) and the end-word of the second hemistich (aḥzānā) share the same final consonant, illustrating tasrīʿ.[1][2]
    Source Example

    وَتَقَفُّو لِيَ الْجَدْوَى بِجَدْوَى وَإِنَّمَا — يَرُوقُكَ بَيْتُ الشِّعْرِ حِينَ يُصَرَّعُ

    You follow up my gift with a gift — for a line of poetry pleases you most when it has tasrīʿ.

    Explanation
    The end-words of the two hemistichs (jadwā) and (yuṣarraʿu) agree in their final rhyme sound, illustrating tasrīʿ.[2]
    Constructed Example

    يَا وَطَنِي كَمْ ذُقْتُ فِيكَ الْهَوَانَا — وَكَمْ حَمَلْتُ لِأَجْلِكَ الْأَحْزَانَا

    O my homeland, how much humiliation I have tasted in you — and how much grief I have borne for your sake.

    Explanation
    The end-word of the first hemistich (al-hawānā) and the end-word of the second hemistich (al-aḥzānā) share the same final consonant, illustrating tasrīʿ.

    Different From

    • Sajʿ: Abd al-Ghani (2011) states that tasrīʿ is specific to poetry and that its analogue in prose is sajʿ; Ibn al-Athīr makes the same point explicitly, stating that tasrīʿ in poetry holds the same position as sajʿ in prose.[1][2]

    Notes

    • Abd al-Ghani (2011) presents several overlapping formulations of the definition: agreement in rhyme and grammatical inflection, agreement in the final letter, and agreement in metre. This page preserves that variation without treating the formulations as distinct subtypes.[1]
    • The phrase yusʿid al-nafs is rendered here as “pleases the soul”, not as a claim about ease of breathing or pronunciation.[1]
    • Heinrichs (1998) derives the term from miṣrāʿ, meaning a rhymed hemistich.[3]

    References

    1. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x Ayman Amin Abd Al-Ghani, Al-Kāfī fī al-Balāgha: Al-Bayān, wa al-Badiʿ wa al-Maʿānī (Cairo: Dār al-Tawfīqiyya lil-Turāth, 2011), 241-244.
    2. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l Inʿām Fawwāl ʿAkkāwī, Al-Muʿjam al-Mufaṣṣal fī ʿUlūm al-Balāgha: Al-Badīʿ wa-al-Bayān wa-al-Maʿānī (Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyya, 1996), 366-370.
    3. ↑ a b c d e f W. P. Heinrichs, ‘Rhetorical Figures’, in Encyclopedia of Arabic Literature, ed. Julie Scott Meisami and Paul Starkey (London: Routledge, 1998), 661, ISBN 0415068088. DOI: 10.4324/9780203020425



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