The effectiveness of repetition in verbal composition in the poetry of Ibn Khafajah: A study of selected examples

Abstract

Modern linguistic studies have many mechanisms for verbal cohesion, and repetition is one of them. This research deals with the phenomenon of rhetorical repetition in the poetry of Ibn Khafajah al-Andalusi. The research seeks to discuss repetition as a linguistic tool that contributes to linking the parts of the text through the analysis of selected models from his Diwan. The poet adopted repetition as a mechanism for cohesion, which is the grammatical and lexical link that makes the poem a single cohesive block. Repetition serves as a linking tool that connects the parts of a text.

The return of a word at the end of a verse or section, after its initial mention, creates a closed semantic circle that prevents the meaning from becoming fragmented. Repetition also helps direct the reader's attention to the text's focus. Rhetorical devices such as (reiteration, echoing the end of a phrase, the illusion of antithesis, alliteration, and double entendre) transform a word from a mere linguistic unit into a concentrated symbol.

The research begins with an introduction and a preface defining verbal construction and repetition, then moves on to studying the manifestations of repetition in Ibn Khafajah's poetry.

The research concluded that repetition transcends its rhetorical function, becoming a unifying thread that connects the preceding to the following, establishing strong cohesion and playing a central role in reference within the text; thus preventing the fragmentation of meaning and maintaining the flow of meaning.