Interrogation in Aḥmad Shawqī's Aswāq al-Dhahab and Its Rhetorical Significance

Abstract

Interrogative style is one of the most significant rhetorical devices in Arabic, given its essential communicative function. It stands out as a key expressive mode because it effectively conveys meaning, stimulates thought, and provokes reflection. Interrogation in Arabic is not limited to the mere pursuit of knowledge or information; rather, it extends beyond that into various rhetorical functions, carrying implied meanings intended by the speaker and interpreted by the listener through linguistic cues and the broader speech context. This deviation from literal meaning grants the interrogative a distinct artistic role in discourse, establishing it as a foundational device in expressing a speaker’s intent.

As a rhetorical form, artistic prose has allowed poets to express their thoughts vividly, incorporating elements typical of poetry such as rhyme, alliteration, paronomasia, balanced phrasing, and more. This capacity for rhetorical embellishment has elevated such prose to high literary stature, particularly when it emerges from a poet with exceptional talent and a prolific pen, one for whom poetic expression flows effortlessly, with meanings pouring forth like a continuous stream. For such a writer, language becomes malleable, shaped to his will. Among the most prominent examples of this mastery in Aḥmad Shawqī's oeuvre is his prose work Aswāq al-Dhahab (The Gold Markets), a literary gem in Arabic prose. Shawqī addresses a wide array of themes in this text, ranging from human existence and social issues to matters of governance and authority.

This study explores the rhetorical purposes of interrogation as deployed by the contextual framework in which they appear within Aswāq al-Dhahab, shedding light on the layered meanings and expressive power of interrogative constructions in Shawqī's prose.