The bleeding of the stone : desert metaphors : reading Al-Koni

Abstract

The dissertation 'The Bleeding of the Stone - Desert Metaphors -Reading Al-Koni' is concerned with illustrating the plurality of meaning concealed in a text that may be prised out through a more heterodox reading process. The scope of this dissertation is to unveil the stark reality that academic literary classification often creates boundaries that inhibit liberal reading processes in Arabic literature. This is due to diverse historical processes that have inhibited allegorical and polysemic interpretations of texts. Al-Koni makes use of a specific typology of space and rhetorical metaphor to induce a multiplicity of meaning. To ensure coherence this dissertation will trace al-Koni's context, the evolution of Arabic literature, the rhetorical trope metaphor in many of its variations, the diverse levels of desert space, and al Koni's general style. The reading process tendered will reveal the possibility of transcending 'compartmentalisation' in favour of a more hybrid understanding of 'universality'. In the arena of oriental studies and Arabic literature in particular the dissertation will endeavour to illustrate that such a paradigm shift is possible and necessary, as al-Koni's work reveals.