This study examines patterns of poetic deviation in the poetry collection Zaman al-Anfās al-Mahjūra (The Time of Abandoned Breaths) by the Mauritanian poet al-Mukhtār al-Sālim Aḥmad Sālim, regarded as a notable work within the context of contemporary Mauritanian poetry. The study draws on the theoretical framework advanced by Geoffrey Leech in his studies of deviation and its mechanisms in the production of poeticity. Leech’s theory is adopted as a principal framework for classifying types of deviation and identifying their functions, thereby enabling a more precise understanding of the ways in which poetic discourse departs from established linguistic norms. The study traces the eight categories of deviation—phonological, graphological, grammatical, stylistic, semantic, lexical, temporal, and dialectal—while exploring their textual realisations and their role in constructing an alternative poeticity that transcends conventional patterns. The research problem arises from the need to reveal how the poet employs these deviations and how they affect the semantic and rhythmic structures of the text. Employing a descriptive-analytical method, the study finds that the poet makes use of free and fragmented rhythm, reinforced by phonological repetition and internal rhyme. He also incorporates graphological and visual devices that regulate the pace of reading and exploits grammatical and stylistic deviation to unsettle the stability of pronominal reference and syntactic structure. Furthermore, he constructs paradoxical poetic imagery and a lexicon based on the collision of semantic fields, while deploying time circularly so as to merge the past with the present. Through indirect evocations of dialectal features, he also creates an atmosphere of warmth and nostalgia within the framework of fuṣḥā (Standard Arabic). All these features are analysed in light of the functional classification of deviation proposed by Geoffrey Leech.

Keywords: deviation; Geoffrey Leech; modern stylistics; contemporary Mauritanian poetry; al-Mukhtar al-Salim Ahmad Salem; Zaman al-Anfas al-Mahjura

Introduction
Deviation holds a prominent position in modern stylistic studies, explaining how literary language acquires its distinctive character through a controlled departure from ordinary linguistic usage. As Geoffrey Leech posits, poetic language is a structured system where deviation and rule formation interact to produce foregrounding and heightened poetic effect. By manipulating lexical selection, syntactic arrangement, semantic association, rhythmic organization, visual presentation, and temporal structure, a poet distances the text from conventional patterns, inviting the reader into an active interpretive process.
The poetry of al-Mukhtār al-Sālim Aḥmad Sālim serves as a valuable case study within contemporary Mauritanian literature. His collection, Zaman al-Anfās al-Mahjūra (The Time of Abandoned Breaths), synthesizes diverse cultural components: desert and Bedouin memories coexist with urban experience, while historical events and mythological symbols intersect with personal confession. This creates a complex poetic universe where the familiar is constantly recontextualized. The central research problem is to determine how the poet employs varied forms of deviation to construct meaning and structure. This study addresses two questions: What are the manifestations and functions of deviation in the poet’s work according to Leech’s theory, and how does this deviation reveal the artistic depth of his language?
Materials and Method
The material consists of the poems in Zaman al-Anfās al-Mahjūra, analyzed via a descriptive-analytical methodology based on close textual reading. Poetic passages displaying departures from ordinary usage were identified and classified according to Leech’s eight-part model: lexical, syntactic, semantic, rhythmic, temporal, stylistic, graphological, and dialectal deviation.
The analysis does not treat these eight categories as isolated phenomena. Instead, it examines their interaction within the text. Rhythmic deviation, for instance, reinforces semantic tension, while graphological choices regulate reading pace and influence meaning. The study relates these textual findings to the cultural and historical background of Mauritanian poetry, clarifying how these deviations express collective memory, social tension, and individual experience.
Discussion and Results
The analysis reveals that rhythmic deviation is a foundational feature. The poet frequently departs from traditional metrical regularity in favor of free, fragmented rhythms. Phonetic repetition, internal rhyme, and recurring melodic patterns establish an internal musical structure, where guttural sounds often align with themes of rebellion and estrangement. Rhythm here is not ornamental but a functional element of meaning-making.
Graphological deviation further shapes the reader’s experience. The use of dense punctuation, parentheses, irregular spacing, and line breaks creates a spatial dimension. These devices regulate the pace of reading, creating silence, hesitation, and anticipation. The open-ended nature of these pauses compels the reader to participate in completing the poetic statement.
Syntactic deviation- manifested through interruption, unusual displacement, and abrupt transitions between pronouns- reflects the instability of the poetic subject. Short, telegraphic sentences alongside parallel structures produce a movement between fragmentation and continuity, leaving identity and perspective fluid. This is complemented by stylistic deviation, where shifting modes (internal monologue, direct address, and non-linear narration) resist a single, closed interpretation.
Semantic deviation is evident in the use of paradoxical images, compressed symbols, and tragic personification. Objects and musical instruments are transformed into figures with damaged destinies, allowing the poet to connect incompatible realities and present historical suffering through unfamiliar, multi-layered images. Concurrently, lexical deviation- the combination of words from distant semantic domains like the abstract, bodily, and climatic- creates intense semantic tension.
Temporal deviation is significant, as the poet employs a circular structure rather than linear progression. By connecting a primitive desert past with a contemporary urban present, the poet suggests that historical experience remains active in current consciousness. Finally, dialectal deviation is used indirectly; while the poems are composed in fuṣḥā (Standard Arabic), stylistic features and modes of popular perception create an oral, immediate warmth, providing cultural resonance to the eloquent linguistic framework.
Conclusion
The study concludes that poetic deviation in Zaman al-Anfās al-Mahjūra is a systematic strategy for producing poeticity rather than an accidental departure from norms. By employing rhythmic, graphological, syntactic, stylistic, semantic, lexical, temporal, and dialectal deviations in mutually reinforcing ways, al-Mukhtār al-Sālim enriches the musical and visual organization of his work. These strategies destabilize conventional structures, expand semantic associations, and articulate deep-seated historical and social tensions. Deviation enables the poet to develop a distinctive identity that synthesizes desert memory, urban modernity, and collective experience. Ultimately, the collection demonstrates the analytical utility of Leech’s theory in understanding how contemporary poetry transforms linguistic norms into a dynamic, expressive, and profound poetic language.