Reconstructing the Image of Love through the Concepts of Persona and Shadow: A Jungian Reading of Abdul-Wahhab Al-Bayati’s Poetry

Zarei, Farzaneh

doi:10.22067/jallv16.i42510-1600

Reconstructing the Image of Love through the Concepts of Persona and Shadow: A Jungian Reading of Abdul-Wahhab Al-Bayati’s Poetry

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Farzaneh Zarei

Visiting Professor Department of Arabic language & Literature, Faculty of Letters and Humanities, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran

https://doi.org/10.22067/jallv16.i42510-1600

Abstract

The image of love constitutes one of the fundamental concerns of both literature and psychology, as it represents a creative force and a core element of human existence. In the poetic world of the prominent Iraqi poet Abdul-Wahhab Al-Bayati, love is perceived not merely as a personal emotion but as an existential, human, and mystical experience that embodies the essence of human liberation. Adopting a mythological-critical approach and a descriptive–analytical method, this study examines the manifestations of love in Al-Bayati’s poetry through the Jungian psychological concepts of persona and shadow. The research demonstrates that love in Al-Bayati’s poetic universe follows an evolutionary trajectory in which the poet moves beyond social and mythological masks, confronts his inner shadow, and ultimately attains existential transformation, resurrection, and a sense of immortality. From this perspective, love functions as a path toward self-discovery, engagement with the unconscious, and the realization of existential wholeness. Moreover, love in Al-Bayati’s poetry transcends historical, political, mythological, and experiential contexts—such as travel and exile—and emerges as a constructive and regenerative force capable of cultural and historical renewal arising from suffering, destruction, and darkness.

Keywords

Love

Existence

Persona

Shadow

Myth

Abdul-Wahhab Al-Bayati

Subjects

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