ABSTRACT
Poetry is met with in the Kitāb al-aghānī in three contexts. First, it forms the lyrics of the Top Hundred and the other songs round which the book is constructed. Second, it is embedded in narratives. And third, it is quoted independently. It may thus have passed through the hands of composers and transmitters (ruwāt) before making its way into the Aghānī. Abū l-Faraj’s comments take account both of the different contexts in which poetry occurs and of the role of those who ensured that it appears as it does in his book.
