Editing Metre (poetry) (section)

===Classical Arabic===
{{see also|Arabic prosody}}

The metrical system of Classical Arabic poetry, like those of classical Greek and Latin, is based on the weight of syllables classified as either "long" or "short". The basic principles of Arabic poetic metre are called ''ʿarūḍ'' ({{langx|ar|العروض}}) or ''ʿilm al-shiʿr'' ({{langx|ar|علم الشعر}}), meaning “science of poetry.” It was put forth by [[Al-Farahidi]] (718 - 786 CE), who did so after noticing that poems consisted of repeated syllables in each verse. In his first book, ''al-Arḍ'' ({{langx|ar|العرض}}), he described 15 types of verse. Al-Akhfash described one extra, the 16th.

A short syllable contains a short vowel with no following consonants. For example, the word ''kataba,'' which syllabifies as ''ka-ta-ba'', contains three short vowels and is made up of three short syllables. A long syllable contains either a long vowel or a short vowel followed by a consonant as is the case in the word ''maktūbun'' which syllabifies as ''mak-tū-bun''. These are the only syllable types possible in Classical Arabic phonology which, by and large, does not allow a syllable to end in more than one consonant or a consonant to occur in the same syllable after a long vowel. In other words, syllables of the type ''-āk-'' or ''-akr-'' are not found in classical Arabic.

Each verse consists of a certain number of metrical feet (''tafāʿīl'' or ''ʾaǧzāʾ'') and a certain combination of possible feet constitutes a metre (''baḥr'').

The traditional Arabic practice for writing out a poem's metre is to use a concatenation of various derivations of the verbal root ''F-ʿ-L'' (فعل). Thus, the following hemistich

قفا نبك من ذكرى حبيبٍ ومنزلِ

Would be traditionally scanned as:

فعولن مفاعيلن فعولن مفاعلن

That is, Romanized and with traditional Western scansion:

 '''Western:'''   ⏑ –  –  ⏑  –   –  –  ⏑ – –   ⏑  –  ⏑ –
 '''Verse:'''    ''Qifā nabki min ḏikrā ḥabībin wa-manzili''
 '''Mnemonic:'''  fa`ūlun  mafā`īlun  fa`ūlun  mafā`ilun

Al-Khalīl b. Aḥmad al-Farāhīdī's contribution to the study of Arabic prosody is undeniably significant:  he was the first scholar to subject Arabic poetry to a meticulous, painstaking metrical analysis.  Unfortunately, he fell short of producing a coherent theory; instead, he was content to merely gather, classify, and categorize the primary data—a first step which, though insufficient, represents no mean accomplishment.  Therefore, al-Khalīl has left a formulation of utmost complexity and difficulty which requires immense effort to master; even the accomplished scholar cannot utilize and apply it with ease and total confidence. Dr. Ibrāhīm Anīs, one of the most distinguished and celebrated pillars of Arabic literature and the Arabic language in the 20th century, states the issue clearly in his book ''Mūsīqā al-Shiʿr'':

“I am aware of no [other] branch of Arabic studies which embodies as many [technical] terms as does [al-Khalīl’s] prosody, few and distinct as the meters are: al-Khalīl’s disciples employed a large number of infrequent items, assigning to those items certain technical denotations which—invariably—require definition and explanation. … As to the rules of metric variation, they are numerous to the extent that they defy memory and impose a taxing course of study. … In learning them, a student faces severe hardship which obscures all connection with an artistic genre—indeed, the most artistic of all—namely, poetry. … It is in this fashion that [various] authors dealt with the subject under discussion over a period of eleven centuries: none of them attempted to introduce a new approach or to simplify the rules. … Is it not time for a new, simple presentation which avoids contrivance, displays close affinity to [the art of] poetry, and perhaps renders the science of prosody palatable as well as manageable?”

In the 20th and the 21st centuries, numerous scholars have endeavored to supplement al-Khalīl's contribution.

====The Arabic metres====
{{main|Arabic prosody}}
Classical Arabic has sixteen established metres. Though each of them allows for a certain amount of variation, their basic patterns are as follows, using:
* "–" for 1 long syllable
* "⏑" for 1 short syllable
* "x" for a position that can contain 1 long or 1 short
* "o" for a position that can contain 1 long or 2 shorts
* "S" for a position that can contain 1 long, 2 shorts, or 1 long + 1 short

{|class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Circle
! Name<br />(Romanized) 
! Name<br />(Arabic) 
! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Scansion 
! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Mnemonic
|-
| 1 || [[Tawil|Ṭawīl]]  || {{lang|ar|الطويل}}   || ⏑ – x ⏑ – x – ⏑ – x ⏑ – ⏑ – ||{{lang|ar|فعولن مفاعيلن فعولن مفاعلن}}
|-
| 1 || [[Madīd (metre)|Madīd]] || {{lang|ar|المديد}}   || x ⏑ – – x ⏑ – x ⏑ – – ||{{lang|ar|فاعلاتن فاعلن فاعلاتن}}
|-
| 1 || [[Basīṭ]]     || {{lang|ar|البسيط}}   || x – ⏑ – x ⏑ – x – ⏑ – ⏑ ⏑ – ||{{lang|ar|مستفعلن فاعلن مستفعلن فعلن}}
|-
| 2 || [[Kāmil]]    || {{lang|ar|الكامل}}   || o – ⏑ – o – ⏑ – o – ⏑ – ||{{lang|ar|متفاعلن متفاعلن متفاعلن}}
|-
| 2 || [[Wāfir]]     || {{lang|ar|الوافر}}   || ⏑ – o – ⏑ – o – ⏑ – – ||{{lang|ar|مفاعلتن مفاعلتن فعولن}}
|-
| 3 || [[Hazaj]]    || {{lang|ar|الهزج}}    || ⏑ – – x ⏑ – – x ||{{lang|ar|مفاعيلن مفاعيلن}}
|-
| 3 || [[Rajaz (prosody)|Rajaz]]     || {{lang|ar|الرجز}}    || x – ⏑ – x – ⏑ – x – ⏑ – ||{{lang|ar|مستفعلن مستفعلن مستفعلن}}
|-
| 3 || [[Ramal (metre)|Ramal]]    || {{lang|ar|الرمل}}    || x ⏑ – – x ⏑ – – x ⏑ – ||{{lang|ar|فاعلاتن فاعلاتن فاعلن}}
|-
| 4 || [[Sarī`]]    || {{lang|ar|السريع}}   || x x ⏑ – x x ⏑ – – ⏑ – ||{{lang|ar|مستفعلن مستفعلن فاعلن}}
|-
| 4 || [[Munsariħ]] || {{lang|ar|المنسرح}}  || x – ⏑ – – x – ⏑ – ⏑ ⏑ – ||{{lang|ar|مستفعلن فاعلاتُ مستفعلن}}
|-
| 4 || [[Khafīf]]   || {{lang|ar|الخفيف}}   || x ⏑ – x – – ⏑ – x ⏑ – x ||{{lang|ar|فاعلاتن مستفعلن فاعلاتن}}
|-
| 4 || [[Muḍāri`]]  || {{lang|ar|المضارع}}  || ⏑ – x x – ⏑ – – ||{{lang|ar|مفاعلن فاعلاتن}}
|-
| 4 || [[Muqtaḍab]] || {{lang|ar|المقتضب}}  || x ⏑ – ⏑ – ⏑ ⏑ – ||{{lang|ar|فاعلاتُ مفتعلن}}
|-
| 4 || [[Mujtathth]] || {{lang|ar|المجتث}}   || x – ⏑ – x ⏑ – – ||{{lang|ar|مستفعلن فاعلاتن}}
|-
| 5 || [[Mutadārik]] || {{lang|ar|المتدارك}} || S – S – S – || {{lang|ar|فاعلن فاعلن فاعلن فاعلن}}
|-
| 5 || [[Mutaqārib]] || {{lang|ar|المتقارب}} || ⏑ – x ⏑ – x ⏑ – x ⏑ – ||{{lang|ar|فعولن فعولن فعولن فعول}}
|}