الصورة الشعرية ومفهوم الوطن في شعر الرواد

The Poetic Image and the Construction of the Concept of Homeland in Pioneer Poetry

Abstract

This study examined the role of the poetic image in shaping the concept of homeland in the poetry of the Arab pioneers and explored how poetic imagery contributed to the construction of national and existential meanings within modern Arabic poetry. The research aimed to investigate the relationship between poetic image and homeland and to reveal the ways in which pioneer poets transformed homeland from a physical and geographical entity into a complex symbolic and imaginative construct. To achieve these objectives, the study adopted a descriptive-analytical methodology based on close textual analysis of selected poems by pioneering Arab poets, particularly Badr Shakir al-Sayyab and Abd al-Wahhab al-Bayati. The analysis focused on the semantic, symbolic, and aesthetic dimensions of poetic images and their contribution to shaping the poets’ vision of homeland. The findings demonstrated that the concept of homeland was constructed through interconnected poetic images that moved beyond direct description toward deeper symbolic representations. The study revealed that homeland emerged as an imaginative and dynamic space in which memory, dream, myth, and personal experience interacted to produce multilayered meanings. Furthermore, the poetic image was found to function as an effective artistic tool for reconstructing homeland both semantically and aesthetically, reflecting the poets’ intellectual concerns and existential experiences. The study concluded that poetic imagery occupied a central position in pioneer poetry and played a decisive role in redefining the concept of homeland within the framework of modern Arabic poetic discourse. It recommended further comparative studies on the representation of homeland in modern Arabic poetry and greater attention to the aesthetic and symbolic functions of poetic imagery in literary criticism. 

Conflict of Interest:

The author(s) declare that there are no competing or potential conflicts of interest regarding the research, authorship, and publication of this article.

Corresponding Author:

kafait.arabic@pu.edu.pk, drjmmajeed.oriental@pu.edu.pk  

Participant Consent:

Not applicable. This study does not involve human participants.

Funding:

This research did not receive any specific grant from public, commercial, or non-profit funding agencies.

Data Fabrication/Falsification Statement:

The author(s) declare that no data have been fabricated, falsified, or manipulated in this study.

Copyright:

Copyright (c) 2026 Professor Dr Kafait Ullah Hamdani, Dr Muhammad Javaid Majeed