A Stylistic Reading of Dr. Saeed Adnan Al-Mihna: Fi Ufuq al-Adab as a Case Study

Abstract

This study examines the general and specific stylistic features of Dr. Saeed Adnan Al-Mihna’s book On the Horizon of Literature, with the aim of identifying the main characteristics of his language, textual construction, and use of expressive devices. The study adopted a descriptive-analytical approach to examine and analyse the stylistic phenomena in the book’s texts, highlighting their linguistic and artistic richness. The analysis revealed that the writer employs a style free from conventional patterns, grounded in a clear awareness of language and its possibilities, and reflecting extensive literary and critical experience and reading. His writings are also marked by stylistic diversity, frequent transitions, and digressions that are closely connected to the context. Rather than weakening the text, these digressions perform semantic and aesthetic functions by expanding ideas, deepening meaning, and involving the reader in the writing process. The study found that digression occupies a prominent place in the writer’s style and does not constitute a departure from the subject; rather, it serves as an artistic and decorative device that opens access to the text’s worlds and strengthens its internal coherence, revealing the writer’s awareness of the reader during the act of writing. The study concludes that Dr. Saeed Adnan Al-Mihna’s style may be described as “simple yet inimitable”: accessible in its meanings and ideas, yet difficult to imitate. It recommends further stylistic and critical studies of academic and literary figures’ works because of their intellectual precision, scholarly rigour, and artistic value.