ABSTRACT
The difference between the formal ode and the occasional piece of poetry seems to have been already fairly well established in Pre-Islamic Arabic poetry. The patrons, particularly in Abbasid times, were often well versed in Arabic language and poetry and many had received a thorough literary training from philologists who assumed an increasingly great importance in Arabic literary life. For obvious political and religious reasons it was an article of faith with some Abbasid Caliphs to provide their children with a solid grounding in Islam and the relevant sciences, including philosophy and knowledge of ancient poetry. The rise of the tradition of idealized and 'courtly' love poetry, one of the most fascinating developments in the history of Arabic poetry, took place in the much simpler life of the desert in early Islam. The significant innovations introduced by the Umayyads were carried on to considerably greater lengths by the Abbasid poets, who expanded the horizons of Arabic poetry in several directions.
