Form

The Muwashshah

Also Known As Also transliterated muwaššaḥ in scholarly Arabic romanization.
Middle Eastern and Persian Verse Forms

A strophic Arabic verse form invented in Islamic Iberia, breaking from the monorhyme of the classical qasida with multiple stanzas that shift rhyme, most famous for closing with a kharja, a final couplet sometimes voiced in colloquial Arabic or the Iberian Romance vernacular rather than classical Arabic.

Facts
Place of Origin
Al-Andalus (Islamic Iberia), 9th-10th century. 1
Structure
Multiple stanzas combining a shifting rhyme with a fixed refrain rhyme repeated across stanzas, closing with a distinct final couplet (kharja) often in vernacular language. 1
Notable Example
Muwashshahat composed by Andalusian Arabic and Hebrew poets including Judah Halevi. 1
Mode
Poetry 2
Structure
Stanzaic Form 2
Connections

Form Of Genre

Lyric Poetry, Genres
Source The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics

Influenced

The Zajal, Forms
Source The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics
In the Other Atlases

Original Language

Also in Language Atlas: the original language of this subject.

Source Muwashshah (Wikipedia)Lead paragraphtier 2
Quote, Lead paragraph
the major Andalusi innovation in Arabic poetry

Originated In

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject originated.

Sources
1. The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics
Princeton University Press
  • Place of Origin: Al-Andalus (Islamic Iberia), 9th-10th century.
  • Structure: Multiple stanzas combining a shifting rhyme with a fixed refrain rhyme repeated across stanzas, closing with a distinct final couplet (kharja) often in vernacular language.
  • Notable Example: Muwashshahat composed by Andalusian Arabic and Hebrew poets including Judah Halevi.
2. Muwashshah (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia Foundation (Wikipedia)
  • Lead section, first sentence
    Muwashshah (Arabic: مُوَشَّح muwaššaḥ 'girdled'; plural مُوَشَّحَات muwaššaḥāt) is a strophic poetic form that developed in al-Andalus in the late 10th and early 11th centuries.
  • Lead paragraph
    is a strophic poetic form
  • Lead paragraph, sentence on structure
    Muwashshah (Arabic: مُوَشَّح muwaššaḥ 'girdled'; plural مُوَشَّحَات muwaššaḥāt; also تَوْشِيْح tawšīḥ 'girdling,' pl. تَوَاشِيْح tawāšīḥ) is a strophic poetic form that developed in al-Andalus in the late 10th and early 11th centuries.
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