F.E. Johnson, R.A.

The Antar of the romance is constantly breaking into verse which is
passionately admired by his followers. None of its beauties of form are
preserved in the translation; and indeed, this is true of the prose
forms also. It speaks volumes for the manly vigor of the original that
it can be transferred to an alien tongue and yet preserve great
qualities. To the Arab the work is a masterpiece both in form and
content. Its prose is in balanced, rhythmic sentences ending in full or
partial rhymes. This "cadence of the cooing dove" is pure music to an
Eastern ear. If any reader is interested in Arabic verse, he can readily
satisfy his curiosity. An introduction to the subject is given in the
Terminal Essay of Sir Richard Burton's 'Arabian Nights' (Lady Burton's
edition, Vol. vi., page 340). The same subject is treated briefly and
very clearly in the introduction to Lyall's 'Ancient Arabian Poetry'--a
book well worth consulting on other accounts.

The story itself appeals to the Oriental's deepest feelings, passions,
ideals:--

"To realize the impetuous feelings of the Arab," says Von
Hammer, "you must have heard these tales narrated to a circle
of Bedouins crowded about the orator of the desert.... It is
a veritable drama, in which the spectators are the actors as
well. If the hero is threatened with imminent danger, they
shudder and cry aloud, 'No, no, no; Allah forbid! that cannot
be!' If he is in the midst of tumult and battle, mowing down
rank after rank of the enemy with his sword, they seize their
own weapons and rise to fly to his rescue. If he falls into
the snares of treachery, their foreheads contract with angry
indignation and they exclaim, 'The curse of Allah be on the
traitor!' If the hero at last sinks under the superior forces
of the enemy, a long and ardent sigh escapes from their
breasts, with the farewell blessing, 'Allah's compassion be
with him--may he rest in peace.'... Descriptions of the
beauties of nature, especially of the spring, are received
with exclamations. Nothing equals the delight which sparkles
in every eye when the narrator draws a picture of
feminine beauty."

The question as to the exact relation of the chivalry of Europe to the
earlier chivalry of Arabia and of the East is a large one, and one which
must be left to scholars. It is certain that Spenser and Sir Philip
Sid