Le tarab dans la littérature arabe classique et contemporaine

Since antiquity, poetry and music in the Near East have been interrelated and were believed to have extraordinary powers. Both the context in which oral poetry is set, and the musically induced state of enchantment or ecstasy it produces, are defined in Arabic by the word tarab. This article aims to provide an exhaustive definition of this concept, as well as a brief introduction to the artistic domain that encompasses extemporary performance of songs/poems, from the pre-Islamic period up until our modern era. Drawing on literary excerpts, the article attempts to highlight how music, literary performance and aesthetic emotion are amalgamated through the holistic experience of tarab, which has maintained its basic features virtually unchanged from the days of Gāhiliyya until the golden age of Umm Kulthum.