تحلیل زبان‌شناختی مفاهیم «خلأ» و «رهایی» در شعر نازک‌الملائکه با رویکرد پدیدارشناسی و نشانه‌شناسی گفتمانی (مطالعه موردی: قصیده‏ مرثیة لامرأة لا قیمة لها)

Title: Cognitive Linguistic Modeling of the Concepts of “Liberation” and “Void” in the Poetry of Nazik Al-Malaika Phenomenological and Discursive Semiotic Approach (Case Study: Marthiyyah li-Imra’ah La Qīmata Lahā)



1. Introduction and Objectives

In the realm of modern Arabic poetry, Nazik Al-Malaika stands as a pioneering figure whose poetic discourse transcends conventional aesthetic boundaries and ventures into the philosophical and existential dimensions of language. Her poetry, particularly the poem Marthiyyah li-Imra’ah La Qīmata Lahā, exemplifies a profound engagement with the concepts of “liberation” and “void,” not as abstract themes but as lived, cognitive states embedded within the linguistic fabric of the text. These concepts are not merely symbolic; they are structurally and semantically enacted through the poem’s syntactic, lexical, and metaphorical architecture. This study aims to model the cognitive-linguistic representation of “liberation” and “void” in Al-Malaika’s poem by employing an integrated theoretical framework that combines phenomenology and discursive semiotics. The research seeks to answer two central questions: (1) How is the concept of “void” cognitively represented through linguistic and semiotic structures from a phenomenological and discursive semiotic perspective? (2) How is the concept of “liberation” portrayed not as freedom, but as a gradual dissolution of the subject from meaning, memory, and human relationality? By addressing these questions, the study contributes to a deeper understanding of how language in modern Arabic poetry functions not only as a medium of expression but as a site of existential tension and cognitive construction.



2. Methodology

The research adopts a descriptive-analytical methodology grounded in qualitative textual analysis. The primary corpus consists of the poem Marthiyyah li-Imra’ah La Qīmata Lahā, which is examined through a multi-layered linguistic lens. The study utilizes cognitive linguistic tools to identify and classify the syntactic, lexical, metaphorical, and semiotic components that contribute to the modeling of “liberation” and “void.”

The theoretical framework is based on two complementary paradigms:

Phenomenology, particularly Ricoeur’s hermeneutic phenomenology, which allows for the interpretation of lived experience and existential absence as encoded in poetic language

Discursive Semiotics, drawing on Greimasian theory, which facilitates the analysis of signs, absences, and negations within the poem’s discursive structure

The analysis proceeds in two stages: First, the linguistic features associated with “void” and “liberation” are extracted and categorized according to their syntactic, semantic, and metaphorical functions. Second, these features are interpreted within the phenomenological and semiotic frameworks to reveal their cognitive and existential implications.





3. Findings

The findings indicate that the concept of “void” is linguistically constructed through a constellation of negation-based syntactic structures, decay-oriented lexical items, and metaphors of absence and dissolution. Specifically:

Syntactic structures such as negation verbs and omission of agency reflect existential passivity and the erasure of subjectivity.

Lexical choices including terms like “bones,” “forgetfulness,” “polluted water,” and “echo” evoke semantic fields of decay, violence, and disconnection.

Conceptual metaphors of death, erosion, and silence translate the internal experience of void into spatial and temporal imagery.

Phenomenological markers such as the absence of empathy, isolation, and exclusion from collective memory underscore the lived experience of existential detachment.

Discursive semiotic elements including repetitive negation, silence, and failure of meaning transmission reinforce the dominance of “non-being” over “being.”

Conversely, the concept of “liberation” is not framed as emancipation or transcendence, but as a gradual cognitive and existential unraveling. It manifests through:

The absence of mourning and emotional response in the social sphere.

The erasure of narrative and inability of death to generate memory.

These elements collectively portray “liberation” as a cognitive state of dissolution, where the subject is progressively severed from meaning, memory, and relational presence.



4. Discussion and Conclusion

The study reveals that Al-Malaika’s poetic language operates as a cognitive and existential mechanism that models “void” and “liberation” not as abstract literary motifs, but as structured experiences encoded in linguistic form. The integration of phenomenological and semiotic approaches enables a nuanced reading of how absence, negation, and dissolution are linguistically and conceptually enacted.

“Void” emerges as a dominant existential condition, linguistically reinforced through syntactic negation, semantic decay, and metaphorical absence. It signifies not only the erasure of agency but the collapse of memory and meaning. “Liberation,” in turn, is portrayed as a paradoxical release—one that leads not to transcendence but to fragmentation and cognitive disintegration.

Thus, language in this poem is not a passive vessel of expression; it is an active field of existential construction. The poem becomes a discursive elegy for the collapse of meaning, memory, and human presence in the modern world. This research, by modeling these concepts through cognitive linguistic analysis, offers a novel contribution to the study of modern Arabic poetry and its philosophical underpinnings.