Note 135 — HASAN OF BASSORAH.[5] (continued 3)
Richard Francis Burton translation · Edition 2
Egyptian and Syrian vulgar term for Mawálíyah or Mawáliyah, a short poem on subjects either classical or vulgar. It generally consists of five lines all rhyming except the penultimate. The metre is a species of the Basít which, however, admits of considerable poetical license; this being according to Lane the usual “Weight,”
¯ ¯ ˘ ¯ ¯ / ˘ ¯ ˘ / ¯ ¯ ˘ ¯ / ¯ ¯.
The scheme is distinctly anapæstic and Mr. Lyall (Translations of Ancient Arabic Poetry) compares with a cognate metre, the Tawíl, certain lines in Abt Vogler, e.g.
“Ye know why the forms are fair, ye hear how the tale is told.”