The Arabic ode originating in oral forms and possibly in song, followed an esthetic that appealed primarily to the listener and had tightly codified tropes. The figure of the poet in the pre-Islamic era was associated with 'divine inspiration' the poet was seen as the tribal spokesperson, one who praised the tribe's illustrious past and hurled invective at its enemies.
619-687 CE.) From the very earliest stages in the Arabic literary tradition, poetry has reflected the deepest sense of Arab self-identity, of communal history, and of aspirations. (The phrase: “poetry is the register or Arabs” was originally attributed to Ibn Abbas عبد الله ابن عباس, c.
The cardinal genre of Arabic literature, called ' the register of the Arabs' ( dīwān al-ʿArab = ديوان العرب) is the age-old phrase whereby Arabs have acknowledged the status and value that poetry has always retained within their cultural heritage.
