LessonsThe Marāghah Maqāmah: A Test of Eloquence and an Unusual ConstraintQuiz

«وَالتَّمْيِيزُ عِنْدَنَا بَيْنَ الْفِضَّةِ وَالْقِضَّةِ مُتَيَسِّرٌ»
We can readily distinguish silver from little stones.

Fiḍḍah is silver; qiḍḍah refers here to small stones or gravel. The near-identical forms contrast objects of unequal value, dramatizing the assembly's confidence in its powers of criticism.

The closeness of the sounds produces a form of partial paronomasia. The members imply that they can separate fine prose from poor imitation. Whether they actually can do so remains the issue under examination.

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Silver and pebbles: wordplay as criticism

The Marāghah Maqāmah: A Test of Eloquence and an Unusual Constraint

«وَالتَّمْيِيزُ عِنْدَنَا بَيْنَ الْفِضَّةِ وَالْقِضَّةِ مُتَيَسِّرٌ»
We can readily distinguish silver from little stones.

Fiḍḍah is silver; qiḍḍah refers here to small stones or gravel. The near-identical forms contrast objects of unequal value, dramatizing the assembly's confidence in its powers of criticism.

The closeness of the sounds produces a form of partial paronomasia. The members imply that they can separate fine prose from poor imitation. Whether they actually can do so remains the issue under examination.