Dual forms recur: janāḥay, ḥifāfayhi, fakhidhān, bābā, kināsay, and mirfaqān. In each case, the poet describes a pair of bodily parts through another paired shape.
Plurals such as maḥāl, ajrinah, and qisiyy describe multiple vertebrae, underside neck parts, or curved bows. Number is central to the mental picture: morphology supplies the spatial organization of the poetic image.
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Ṭarafah: The She-Camel’s Anatomy, Similes, and Roman Arch (Verses 17–23)
Dual forms recur: janāḥay, ḥifāfayhi, fakhidhān, bābā, kināsay, and mirfaqān. In each case, the poet describes a pair of bodily parts through another paired shape.
Plurals such as maḥāl, ajrinah, and qisiyy describe multiple vertebrae, underside neck parts, or curved bows. Number is central to the mental picture: morphology supplies the spatial organization of the poetic image.