«فَقَالَ لَهُ: يَا لَلْعَجَبِ وَلِضَيْعَةِ الْأَدَبِ!»
He exclaimed, “What an astonishing thing! How poorly literature is being appreciated!”
The stranger shifts from asking questions to offering a strongly worded criticism. He thinks the chosen verse does not justify such enthusiastic admiration when a more elaborate example may be available.
His criticism is a character’s reaction, not an objective verdict that the first verse lacks merit.
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The Ḥulwān Maqāmah: A Literary Assembly and a Contest of Verse
«فَقَالَ لَهُ: يَا لَلْعَجَبِ وَلِضَيْعَةِ الْأَدَبِ!»
He exclaimed, “What an astonishing thing! How poorly literature is being appreciated!”
The stranger shifts from asking questions to offering a strongly worded criticism. He thinks the chosen verse does not justify such enthusiastic admiration when a more elaborate example may be available.
His criticism is a character’s reaction, not an objective verdict that the first verse lacks merit.