There are prosaic works filled with their own form of poetry, and then there is poetry itself. Two of the greatest Hebrew poets by any standards were Solomon Ibn Gabirol and Moses Ibn Ezra (not to be confused with his cousin, the Bible commentator and poet Abraham Ibn Ezra). Both products of the Jewish cultural efflorescence of medieval Spain, the two men adapted Arabic stylings into Hebrew verse, described both sacred and profane subjects, and authored learned treatises as well as poems. Tamar Marvin writes:
Ibn Gabirol is a true original; you won’t find another medieval person of his particular flavor anywhere in Jewish history. There are others, of course, of whom this is true, but the singular voice available to us through Ibn Gabirol’s poetry allows us a particularly intimate glimpse into his personality, while his philosophy surprises us with its detachment from Jewish tradition (which also caused it to become detached from him for centuries).
Moses ben Jacob Ibn Ezra (also called Abu Harun) (c. 1055–after 1135), a younger near-contemporary of Ibn Gabirol, ended his life with a hefty dose of the tragedy that infected the elder poet’s. However, Moses Ibn Ezra was, temperamentally speaking, much more in tune with the cultural power brokers of al-Andalus. . . . Moses Ibn Ezra exhibits heights of technical proficiency in his poetic creations along with an evident love of classical Hebrew, but perhaps most of all, joyfulness in language and unmitigated beauty in expression.
Read more on Stories from Jewish History: https://trmarvin.substack.com/p/outsiderinsider-shlomo-ibn-gabirol-de5