Kahlil Gibran: Use of Language and Poetic Devices
Student Number: 40027909
Finnian Coyle BA3 English
Final Year Project
"Kahlil Gibran is said to be one of the world 's bestselling poets, and his life has inspired a play touring the UK and the Middle East. But many critics have been lukewarm about his merits. Why, then, has poetry struck such a chord with generations of readers?" (Shoku and Hegarty)
Explore this comment, focusing on the literary power of Gibran’s work, use of language, poetic devices etc.
"Kahlil Gibran is said to be one of the world 's bestselling poets, and his life has inspired a play touring the UK and the Middle East. But many critics have been lukewarm about his merits. Why, then, has poetry struck such a chord with generations of readers?" (Shoku and Hegarty)
Explore this comment, focusing on the literary power of Gibran’s work, use of language, poetic devices etc.
Kahlil Gibran’s work has divided literary opinion worldwide. Hugely popular and said to have over 10 million copies sold globally, Gibran’s popularity is unquestionable. However there are a large number of, particularly English, critics who are openly dismissive and negative about his work as a whole. “ Even though his major works were in English after 1918, and though he is one of bestselling poets in American history, he was disdained by English professors." (Shoku and Hegarty) In this paper I aim to research the reasons for Gibran’s popularity and heavy criticism, especially in relation to the refusal of many Western critics to consider his work as a valued part of the Western literary canon. I aim to focus specifically on his poetry, such as that found in the collection Sand and Foam, and extracts from other areas of his collected works. Bushrui and Jenkins summarise the heavily weighted amount of academic and authorised literary criticism targeted towards Gibran’s work:
“ One of the major difficulties in any scholarly attempt to study the life and works of Kahlil Gibran is the
Finnian Coyle BA3 English
Final Year Project
"Kahlil Gibran is said to be one of the world 's bestselling poets, and his life has inspired a play touring the UK and the Middle East. But many critics have been lukewarm about his merits. Why, then, has poetry struck such a chord with generations of readers?" (Shoku and Hegarty)
Explore this comment, focusing on the literary power of Gibran’s work, use of language, poetic devices etc.
"Kahlil Gibran is said to be one of the world 's bestselling poets, and his life has inspired a play touring the UK and the Middle East. But many critics have been lukewarm about his merits. Why, then, has poetry struck such a chord with generations of readers?" (Shoku and Hegarty)
Explore this comment, focusing on the literary power of Gibran’s work, use of language, poetic devices etc.
Kahlil Gibran’s work has divided literary opinion worldwide. Hugely popular and said to have over 10 million copies sold globally, Gibran’s popularity is unquestionable. However there are a large number of, particularly English, critics who are openly dismissive and negative about his work as a whole. “ Even though his major works were in English after 1918, and though he is one of bestselling poets in American history, he was disdained by English professors." (Shoku and Hegarty) In this paper I aim to research the reasons for Gibran’s popularity and heavy criticism, especially in relation to the refusal of many Western critics to consider his work as a valued part of the Western literary canon. I aim to focus specifically on his poetry, such as that found in the collection Sand and Foam, and extracts from other areas of his collected works. Bushrui and Jenkins summarise the heavily weighted amount of academic and authorised literary criticism targeted towards Gibran’s work:
“ One of the major difficulties in any scholarly attempt to study the life and works of Kahlil Gibran is the
Cited: Bushrui, S. and Jenkins, J. Kahlil Gibran Man and Poet. Oxford: Oneworld Publications, 1998. Gibran, Kahlil . Kahlil Gibran The Collected Works. London: Everyman’ s Library, 2007. Gibran, Kahlil . Kahlil Gibran The Collected Works. London: Everyman’ s Library, 2007. Gibran, Kahlil . Kahlil Gibran The Collected Works. London: Everyman’ s Library, 2007. . Kahlil Gibran The Collected Works. London: Everyman’ s Library, 2007. Gibran, K. Letter to May Haskell. Beloved Prophet: the love letters of Kahlil Gibran and Mary Haskell and her Private Journal. Ed. Virginia Hilu. London: Quartet Books, 1973. . New York Times April 3, 1949. The New York Times on the Web. 1998. Web. 10th May 2013. Imanguileva, Aida Kahlil Gibran: The Development of the Romantic Method. Gibran, Rihani and Naimy: East-West Interactions in Early Twentieth Century Arab Literature. Oxford: Anqua Publishing, 2010. Print. 39-84. . Journal of Arabic Literature. Vol. 5. (1974): 55– 77. Print. . Leb.net. 1998. Web. 7th May 2013. Shoku, A