The Artistic Values of Simile Imagery in the Diwan of Imru’ al-Qais: A Descriptive and Analytical Study

This study investigates the artistic and rhetorical functions of simile imagery in selected poems from the DÄ«wÄ n of Imru’ al-Qais, with particular emphasis on the Mu‘allaqa as the most representative corpus of his poetic style. The choice of this corpus is motivated by Imru’ al-Qais’s position as the pioneer of pre-Islamic Arabic poetics, whose similes shaped the trajectory of later Arabic literary tradition. Methodologically, the research combines descriptive-analytical reading with a compact quantitative component that classifies similes according to type and frequency. The theoretical framework integrates classical Arabic rhetoric - drawing on authorities such as al-JurjÄ nÄ«, al-SakkÄ kÄ«, and Ibn al-Mu‘tazz - with insights from modern literary theory, particularly cognitive poetics. This dual perspective allows for both a historically grounded and contemporarily relevant analysis of simile. Findings indicate that visual similes dominate the corpus, underscoring the poet’s reliance on sensory immediacy, while auditory and kinesthetic similes contribute to emotional dynamism and narrative coherence. Simile in Imru’ al-Qais’s poetry functions not as ornamental embellishment but as an aesthetic-rhetorical structure that sustains thematic progression, moving from lament to love, night scenes, and equestrian imagery. The study contributes substantively by deepening understanding of simile as a rhetorical device in pre-Islamic poetry, and methodologically by offering a model for integrating close textual analysis with quantitative support. While the corpus is limited to Imru’ al-Qais’s DÄ«wÄ n and the study remains primarily qualitative, its findings open pathways for future corpus-based and digital approaches to classical Arabic poetics.