Omani Classical Poetry and Discourse Deviation

Abstract

We argue in this paper that there are voices in Omani classical poetry that challenged the dominant cultural discourse and deviated from it. The paper is divided into two parts. Part one is mainly theoretical. We start by introducing Omani poetic discourse as one in which different voices compete. We then refer to literary theory to establish that poetry by definition challenges public discourse. Part two is practical. Taking what is established in Part 1 as our point of departure, we practically substantiate our claim by discussing excerpts from Omani classical poetry. We conclude by putting forward suggestions for further study.