Explain the influence of T. S. Eliot on 20th century Arabic poetry, Essay

Explain the influence of T. S. Eliot on 20th century Arabic poetry, giving examples - Essay Example He died in 1965 but his fame did not die with him. Infact he became a model for the future generations in all parts of the world (Nobelprize.org). Eliot’s influence on English writers is well known to everyone. His books â€Å"Prufrock and other Observations†, â€Å"Four Quartets† and in particular â€Å"The Wasteland† has influenced many English writers. However, Eliot’s fame and influence did not confine itself to the borders of Europe and America. Where English poetry under Eliot’s influence moved with a steady pace, the Arabic poetry made a giant leap unleashing itself from the age old Arabic classical poetic model, the qasida, whose form, structure and pattern were laid down in the seventh century and were older than the religion Islam itself (Loya, 1971). The qasida was a couplet which consisted of two symmetrical hemistiches, separated by a caesura followed by a fixed pattern of long and short vowels. Each couplet was independent of the rest of the poem. All the couplets followed a similar rhyme scheme and meter throughout the poem. In Arabic poetry there was also restriction in the selection of themes as well. This pattern was being followed by the Arab poets without any significant changes for the past fourteen hundred centuries. The tribal Arab society gave way to the urbanized society which desperately demanded changes in the poetic form to express its message. The Arab poets became aware of the fact that the traditional qasida form consisting of fixed meter and rhyme was not sufficient to express the harsh realities of life. Despite all this the Arab poets continued to write in the traditional form till the twentieth century. The situation continued till the influence of West, in particular, the influence of T.S. Eliot changed the trend of the Arabic poetry. Many Arabic poets were deeply influenced by T.S. Eliot, whose literary work had touched all parts of the world with admiration (Loya,