Kilito and the Excessive Interpretation of the Classical Narrative Text: How Can We Read the Story Differently?

Within the framework of Kilito‘s project in reading the Arabic narrative heritage, his analysis of a passage from Jurjani‘s Asrar al-Balaghah constitutes a site of paradox, stemming from his consideration of it as a narrative text and his search for elements of the narrated story within it through both analysis and, indeed, interpretation. In this study, we attempt to examine the mechanisms at work in this mode of reading, beginning with exploring his perspective on the literary genre and his conception of literature as a whole, aspiring to achieve unity within classical Arabic culture regardless of genre. The research also seeks to elucidate the role that narrative holds for him as both a field of study and of creativity without neglecting his methodological awareness or the place of interpretation in his thought to arrive at this form of reading described in the title as ―the reading that raises its head.‖ This concept, which has a Barthesian reference, does not, in the author‘s view, imply a lack of attention; rather, it signifies, on the contrary, a flow of ideas, provocations, and associations.