In Abbasid metapoesis, one must avoid forcing the term on earlier poetry. In the Arabic tradition, whose common poetic themes is the boast, most boast poems include long descriptions of what good poetry is and who a great poet is. Thus, one must distinguish between thematic metapoetry, meaning poems whose subject or theme is poetry, and a metapoetry that is deeper and much more critical in nature, although it is not always signaled or marked as clearly as the former. I call this second type "referential or contextual metapoesis," to reflect a consciousness in the manner a poet engages his poetic references.