Qurʾanic Periphrases for the Sake of Rhyme and Rhythm and the Periphrastic Use of Kull

Abstract

Rhyme and meter, the key constraints of poetry, have a profound effect on the structures that can be used within verses. In various literary traditions, certain fea­ tures are either favored in poetry or disfavored and sometimes altogether excluded because they fit those constraints neatly or violate them sharply. Poetry is a craft, and poets draw on technical knowledge and lin­ guistic resources in their efforts to produce rhyming and rhythmically pleasing creations. Poets working in different linguistic traditions have different toolboxes to which they may resort when in need.1 In English verse, for example, many contractions—of varying levels of rarity in the spoken language—such as ‘twas, e’er, ne’er, o’er, e’en, and others serve to create a single