Creativity and Acquisition in Pre-Islamic “Jahili” Poetry

This study discusses creativity and acquisition in the Jahiliaya “pre-Islamic” poetry depending on the studies that have tackled the issue of artistic creativity in general. It depends on the modern theory of acquisition in its endeavor to apply a few of its basics on the Jahiliaya “pre-Islamic” poetry. This research consists of a preface and three sections. The preface itself lays out the theoretical foundation which the research relies on; where it tackles the issue of artistic innovation throughout the approaches of interpretation briefly; such as, the psychological one, the theory of intuition and the viewpoints of Arab critics in the process of creativity. The preface, furthermore, deals with the theory of acquisition which has originated in Germany in the late 1960’s in its broad outlines. The first section deals with the poetic creativity in the Jahiliya “pre-Islamic period. It reviews the outlook of their interpretation to it. Thus, we might perceive that this interpretation has been entwined with two different epochs. The interpretation of this has been connected with revelation, intuition and gods who are nicknamed as the demons of poetry. Poetry, then, used to be conservative for the old religious aura which is connected with fortune-telling, amulets and religious supplications. This idea continued to survive slightly until the first Islamic ages. The second epoch is the stage where poetry has started to get rid of its holiness and religious glory with the remaining of its roots still available.