«فَضَحِكَ الْقَاضِي حَتَّى هَوَتْ ذُؤَابَتُهُ وَذَوَتْ سَكِينَتُهُ»
The judge laughed until his forelock fell and his composure faded.
The verbs form parallel images: a visible physical movement and the loss of composure. The judge’s public dignity briefly gives way to uncontrollable laughter.
The humour arises from the setting as well as the words. A formal judicial scene is disrupted by the absurdities of the clever deceiver; the exaggerated bodily detail makes the reversal vivid.
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Rhetoric and Narrative Effect — Advanced Practicum Across Ten Maqāmāt
«فَضَحِكَ الْقَاضِي حَتَّى هَوَتْ ذُؤَابَتُهُ وَذَوَتْ سَكِينَتُهُ»
The judge laughed until his forelock fell and his composure faded.
The verbs form parallel images: a visible physical movement and the loss of composure. The judge’s public dignity briefly gives way to uncontrollable laughter.
The humour arises from the setting as well as the words. A formal judicial scene is disrupted by the absurdities of the clever deceiver; the exaggerated bodily detail makes the reversal vivid.