Mechanisms of rhetorical suggestion and its functions in the poetry of Abdullah al-Baradouni: A study in interpretive integration https://doi.org/10.35781/1637-000-155-005

Abstract

Abstract
Abstract This study aims to provide an integrated analytical investigation of rhetorical suggestion (al-īḥāʾ al-balāghī) as a unifying aesthetic and semantic system in the poetry of the Yemeni poet Abdullah al-Bardouni. It addresses a central scholarly gap: the absence of a comprehensive analytical model capable of encompassing the interplay between various rhetorical mechanisms in al-Bardouni's poetic discourse, with previous studies largely focusing on isolated devices or general themes without a holistic vision. Consequently, the research seeks to construct a theoretical and applied framework revealing how rhetorical suggestion operates through three primary, interconnected channels: the imaginal-symbolic channel (where natural and historical symbols transform into complex metonymies), the stylistic-rhetorical channel (where classical devices such as taʿrīḍ [implication] and tawriyah [double entendre] are recalibrated within a modernist context), and the structural-formal channel (where repetition, ellipsis, and intertextuality are engineered to create a hermeneutic rhythm). Employing an integrative methodology that synthesizes classical rhetorical analysis, textual-stylistic methods, and semantic-pragmatic perspectives, the study applies this framework to a selected corpus of al-Bardouni's poems. The findings reveal the convergence of these channels into a unified suggestive system serving three major functions: an aesthetic function generating semantic density and expansive interpretive spaces; an ideological function enabling potent, veiled political and social criticism with profound persuasive power; and an emotional-hermeneutic function positioning the reader as an active co-creator of meaning. Thus, the research offers an analytical model that bridges a significant academic gap, demonstrating that al-Bardouni's oeuvre represents an authentic modernist trajectory—one grounded in unlocking the latent critical energy of classical rhetorical heritage and deploying it within a compelling contemporary suggestive discourse. Keywords: Rhetorical Suggestion; Arabic Rhetoric; Symbolism; Pragmatics; Hermeneutic Integration