Functions of the Village in Mohammad Afifi Matar's Poem, Narrative Study in His Complete Poetry Collections

Document Type : research article

Authors

• Shahriar Hemmati ¹
• Hamed Poorheshmati ²

¹ Associate Professor of Arabic Language and Literature, Razi University, Kermansha, Iran.

² Visiting Professor of Arabic Language and Literature, University of Guilan, Guilan, Iran

https://doi.org/10.22067/jallv16.i1.75648

Abstract

The village holds a significant place in contemporary narrative discourse, showcasing its narrative essence through ballads and vivid imagery. Utilizing various conceptual connotations, the village adapts its functions based on the poet's interactions and his reliance on themes that relate either realistically or dreamily to this setting. Mohammad Afifi Matar, a prominent Egyptian poet, perceives the village as an open space rich in narrative mechanisms and characteristics, emphasizing its importance through scenes from his hometown and the needs of its inhabitants. His poetry introduces readers to a series of real or imagined events, inviting them to engage more deeply with the narrative process. This research employs a descriptive-analytical method to explore the portrayal of the village in Matar's poetry. The findings suggest that the poet serves as a wise narrator with a significant presence in shaping these narratives. His depiction of the village encompasses three main aspects: nostalgia for his childhood and past; an optimistic image characterized by natural beauty and abundance; and a darker tragedy linked to the village's social and environmental challenges, manifesting in drought, poverty, and hunger among its residents.

Keywords

• Contemporary Egyptian poetry
• Narrative
• Village
• Mohammad Afifi Matar

Main Subjects

• Linguistics

References

Abbas, I. (1978). Trends in Contemporary Arabic Poetry, Kuwait: The National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters. [In Arabic].

Abdi, S & L. Asgari. (2013). "Commitment in Abdol Vahab Bayati's Poems", Rays of criticism in Arabic and Persian, Karaj, 3) 12(,153-180.

Doi: 20.1001.1.22516573.1435.3.12.7.8 .[In Arabic].

Abdullah, M. H. (1989). The countryside in the Arabic novel, Kuwait: The National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters. [In Arabic].

Afifi Matar, M. (1998). Poetic Works, vol. 1, 2 and 3, 1st Edition, Cairo: Dar Al-Shorouk. [In Arabic].

……………..... (2005). Surprising early visits; formation margins; Autobiography, 1st Edition, Egypt: The General Egyptian Book Organization. [In Arabic].

Ahmad, M. (2005). Structure and significance in the novels of Ibrahim Nasrallah, Beirut: The Arab Institute for Studies and Publishing. [In Arabic].

Al-Bajelani, A. M. K. (2018). “The Narrative and Ideological Vision in the Novel (My Story with a Severed Head) by Tahsin Garmyani”, Karmian University Journal, Issue 4. 218-233. [In Arabic].

Pourhashmati, H & K. Roshanfekr. (2019). "Manifestation of Afghanistan resistance in the works of Jabber Qumaiha: A Case study of "I sing about Afghan's jihad" divan", Journal of Arabic Language and Literature, 12(1), 146-127.

Doi: 10.22067/JALL.V12.I1.75704. [In Persian].

Al-Hussein, A. J. (2012). “The Point Of View in the short stories of Etedal Rafeih”, Journal of Studies in Arabic Language and Literature, Semnan University in cooperation with the Syrian Tishreen University, Issue 8, 1–26.

 Doi: 10.22075/LASEM.2017.1324 .[In Arabic].

Al-Rahimi, O. (2010). “The Owner of Hunger and the Moon is gone”, Masress Newspaper,Al-AhramDailySection. https://www.masress.com/ahram/27833. [In Arabic].

Al-Zabaa, M. (1998). The Novel of the Farmer, Falah Al-Roayah, 1st Edition, Cairo: The Egyptian General Authority for Writers. [In Arabic].

Amami, M. N. (2013). Structure and Significance in the Novel, Applied Study, 1st Edition, Saudi Arabia: Qassim Literary Club Publications. [In Arabic].

Asaad, S. (1982). “The short story and the issue of place”, Fosoul magazine, Egyptian General Book Organization, 2(4), 179-186. [In Arabic].

Asfour, J. (2009). On the Love of Poetry, 1st Edition, Cairo: The Egyptian Lebanese House. [In Arabic].

Ayoub, M. (2001). Time and Storytelling in the Contemporary Palestinian Novel, Cairo: Sinbad Publishing and Distribution House. [In Arabic].

Bachelard, G. (1984). Aesthetics of the place, translated by Ghaleb Halsa, 2nd Edition, Beirut: University Institution for Studies, Publishing and Distribution. [In Arabic].

Batgha, S. (2010). The countryside in the Algerian novel, a comparative analytical study, PhD thesis, supervised by Tayeb Bouderbala, Hadj Lakhdar University Batna, Algeria. [In Arabic].

Domzil, Georges & R. Kaiva & G. Godorf & M. Yamagoshi & J. Darmstetter. (2000). The World of Mythology, translated by Jalal Sattari, 1st Edition, Tehran: Center Publishing. [In Persian].

Dosari, A. (2004). Amal Dunqol, Poet on the Lines of Fire, Volume 1, 1st Edition, Beirut: The Arab Institute for Studies and Publishing. [In Arabic].

Fathi Dehkerdi, S & R. Jafari. (2006). “The Symbol of Birds and Animals in the Resistant Palestinian Poetry”, Journal of Arabic Language and Literature, 2(4), 67-78. [In Arabic].

Ghorbani, J & R. Abbasi. (2007). "The Contrast between the City and the Village in Contemporary Arab and Persian Poetry", Persian Liturature Quarterly, Islamic Azad University, Mashhad, 4(3), 306-317. [In Persian].

Hamdan, A. R. (2014). “The Aesthetics of the Village in the Palestinian Novel The Village (Beit Hanoun) as a Model”, Journal of Palestine Technical College for Research and Studies, Issue 1, 1-29. [In Arabic].

Hasan, M. H. A. (2016). The Aesthetics of Place in Modern Iraqi Poetry "Saadi Youssef as a Model", Master's Thesis, supervised by Muhammad Izz Al-Din Al-Manasrah, Philadelphia University, Jordan. [In Arabic].

Hemmati, S & H. Pourheshmati. (2018). “Narrative of closed places in the poem of Mohammad Afifi Matar (the cemetery and cafe for example)”, Rays of criticism in Arabic and persian, Karaj 8(30), 85-114.

 Doi: 20.1001.1.22516573.2018.8.30.4.8. [In Arabic].

Heydarian Shahri, A. R (2013). "A Comparative Study of Primitivism & City Estrangement in Sepehri and Hijazi‘s Poetry", Journal of Arabic Language and Literature Magazine. 4(6), 39-62.

 Doi: 10.22067/JALL.V4I6.16281. [In Persian].

Kamaljo, M & H. Faqih Abdullahi & M. A. Yazdanpanah. (2015). "Review of the Concept of Time in the Poems of Mahmoud Darwish and GheisarAminpour", Comparative Literature Research, Tehran, 4(2), 109-132.

Doi: 20.1001.1.23452366.1395.4.2.2.1. [In Arabic].

Kharfi, M. S. (2002). “The Semiotics of Place in the Poetry of Othman Lousif”, Journal of the University of Muhammad Khider, Issue 8, Biskra, Algeria. 281-306. [In Arabic].

Kharfi, M. S. (2006). The Aesthetics of Place in Contemporary Algerian Poetry, PhD thesis, supervised by Yahya Sheikh Saleh, Mentouri University of Constantine, Algeria. [In Arabic].

Mahmoud, V. Y. (2011). Time and place in Najib Al-Kilani’s novels, Master’s thesis, supervised by Jubeir Saleh Hammadi, Iraqi University, Iraq. [In Arabic].

Marouf, Y & R. Kiyani. (2013). “The Place in the Poetry of Badr Shakir al-Sayyab and Mohammad Hossein Shahriar (HeydarBaba and Jeekor for example)”, Journal of Arabic Language and Literature, 9(2), 105-132.

Doi: 10.22059/JAL-LQ.2013.35823. [In Arabic].

Mustafa, I & A. H. Al-Zayat & H. Abdel Qader & M. A. Al-Najjar. (1989) The intermediate dictionary, Turkish: Dar al-Da`wah. [In Arabic].

Nazimian, R & P. Karimi. (2015). “Pastoral Literature in Al-Sharqawi's Novel the Earth (AL-Arz) and Dowlatabadi's Kaleidar”, Rays of criticism in Arabic and Persian, Karaj, 5(19), 85-114.  Doi: 20.1001.1.22516573.1436.5.19.4.9. [In Arabic].

Nemati, F & J. Amiri & A. Salimi & A. S. Karimi. (2014). “The Manifestation of Loneliness in Sayyid Qutb's Verses”, Journal of Arabic Literatur, Tehran, Vol. 6, Issue 1, pp. 217-238. Doi: 10.22059/JALIT.2014.52031. [In Arabic].

Prince, G. (2003). The Narrative Term (Dictionary of Terms), translated by Abed Khaznadar, 1st Edition, Cairo: The Supreme Council of Culture. [In Arabic].

Rahab, Gh. (2006). "Pondering over the Concept of "Village"", Journal of Environmental Studies, University of Tehran, 33(41). 105-116. [In Persian].

Sadeghi, I & S. K. Mousavi & M. Aghakhani Bijani. (2013). "Love toward wife in Iran contemporary poem", Journal of Lyrical Literature Researches, University of Sistan and Baluchistan, 12(22), pp. 189-208 .[In Persian].

Shahata, M. S. (2003). Syntactic Relations and the Formation of the Poetic Image of Muhammad Afifi Matar, Cairo: The General Authority for Cultural Palaces. [In Arabic].

 Tarafah ibn Al-Abd. (2002). Diwan Tarfa bin Al-Abd, explanation and introduction by Mahdi Muhammad Nasir al-Din, 2nd Edition, Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyya. [In Arabic].

Tawam, A. (2016). The implications of the narrative space in light of semiotic features; The novel "Now...Here or the East of the Mediterranean Again" by Abdel Rahman Munif as an example, PhD thesis, supervised by Havari Belghasem, Ahmed Ben Bella University - Oran, Algeria. [In Arabic].

Yousef Abadi, A. B. A & A. A. Ahmadi Chanari. (2017). “The Narratology of Fantasy Novel Imrat Al-Gharoorah by Salim Matar”, Journal of Studies in the Arabic Language, Semnan University in cooperation with the Syrian Tishreen University, 7(24), 91-114.

Doi: 10.22075/LASEM.2017.6408. [In Arabic].

Zitouni, L. (2002). A Dictionary of Terms Criticizing the Novel, Beirut: Library of Lebanon Publishers. [In Arabic].