HEMICON: Hemistich Ending Concordance

    From The Encyclopedia of Arabic Rhetoric

    التصريع
    HEMICON: Hemistich Ending Concordance
    CategoryLinguistic Embellishments
    (‘ilm al-badī‘)
    SubcategoryRhythmic Structuring & Balance
    Built upon4 sources
      
    Annotation Unit
    ARDT CodeHEMICON
    Level1
      
    Included in Taxonomy
    ARDTv0.1.1
    v0.1.0
      
    External Identifiers
    BALAGHAScoreCD-2
    BalaghaBaseQ133
    OpenAlexW4415412443
      
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    🔗 Live DOI10.64393/balagha.Q133
     
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    Definition

    Hemistich Ending Concordance (al-taṣrīʿ) 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 descriptions also specifying correspondence in metre and the final vowel or grammatical inflection.[1][2][3] Nābulsī defines the device as the agreement of the final part of the beginning of the verse with the final part of its end in metre, rhyme, and grammatical inflection; Cachia renders the requirements as agreement in metre, final consonant, and final vowel.[3] 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 characteristically used in the opening line of a poem, though it may recur elsewhere.[1][4][2][3] The term is derived from miṣrāʿ, meaning a rhymed hemistich.[4] Taṣrīʿ 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]

    Linguistic Operations

    • 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.[4]
    • 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][4][2][3]
    • 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]
    • Nābulsī defines the correspondence as agreement of the final part of the first hemistich with the final part of the second in metre, rhyme, and grammatical inflection.[3]
    • Cachia identifies two strict requirements: the two hemistichs must rhyme, and their final segments must be metrically identical. He interprets Nābulsī's additional requirement concerning grammatical inflection as effectively requiring the words ending the two hemistichs to have the same final vowel.[3]
    • 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.
    • Abd al-Ghani's overlapping formulations of the formal correspondence between the hemistich endings are not treated as separate subtypes or as a rigid checklist; Nābulsī's explicitly enumerated six varieties are presented separately under Types.

    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][4]
    • 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 Communicative Enhancements

    • 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 Communicative Enhancements section of this page in Step 4.

    Types of Hemistich Ending Concordance

    Nābulsī distinguishes six varieties of taṣrīʿ.[3]

    • Perfect (al-taṣrīʿ al-kāmil): each hemistich is independently intelligible in its meaning.
    • Independent first hemistich with subsequent connection: the first hemistich does not require the second to be understood, but when the second is added, its meaning becomes connected with it.
    • Interchangeable hemistichs: the two hemistichs are constructed so that each can occupy the position of the other.
    • Deficient (al-taṣrīʿ al-nāqiṣ): the meaning of the first hemistich cannot be understood except in conjunction with the second.
    • Reverberating: the two hemistichs end in the same word-form or sound. Nābulsī divides this into two cases: the corresponding words may differ in meaning, producing what Cachia identifies as explicit paronomasia, or they may have the same meaning.
    • Dependent (taṣrīʿ al-taʿlīq): the first hemistich depends upon an element whose specification occurs in the second hemistich.

    Examples

    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]

    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]

    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]

    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]

    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]

    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]

    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]

    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]

    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.

    At last the valley wakes to light — Beyond the hills, the stars burn bright.

    Explanation
    The two hemistichs end in the corresponding rhyme light / bright, while each hemistich expresses an independently intelligible meaning. This illustrates the perfect variety of taṣrīʿ.

    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]
    • Tarṣīʿ (الترصيع) - Taṣrīʿ concerns correspondence between the endings of the two hemistichs of a poetic line, typically by extending the poem’s rhyme to the end of the first hemistich. Tarṣīʿ, by contrast, involves correspondence in rhyme and morphological weight across multiple paired words or expressions.

    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.[4]
    • Cachia observes that the strict requirements of taṣrīʿ are rhyme between the hemistichs and metrical identity of their final segments. Although Nābulsī additionally formulates the requirement in terms of grammatical inflection, Cachia understands this as requiring the hemistich-ending words to share the same final vowel rather than requiring their grammatical circumstances to be otherwise comparable.[3]
    • Cachia further observes that taṣrīʿ appears to require a marked balance between the two hemistichs, while noting that Nābulsī does not explicitly make this part of his definition.[3]
    • Cachia observes that taṣrīʿ is best employed in the opening line of a poem and may be considered infelicitous when used elsewhere.[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 g h i j Pierre Cachia, The Arch Rhetorician: Or The Schemer’s Skimmer: A Handbook of Late Arabic Badīʻ Drawn from ʻAbd al-Ghanī an-Nābulsī’s Nafaḥāt al-Azhār ʻala Nasamāt al-Asḥār, Studies in Arabic Language and Literature 3 (Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 1998), pp. 13-14; §9, ISBN 9783447040327.
    4. ↑ 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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